


the boy who fell through the ceiling

by hikariisjaejj



Category: EXO (Band), K-pop
Genre: Adventure, Eventual Romance, Fantasy, Fluff, HunHan - Freeform, M/M, Romance, Science Fiction, SeLu - Freeform, THE LITTLE PRINCE AU, Teen Romance, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2019-03-16 17:50:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 43,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13641378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hikariisjaejj/pseuds/hikariisjaejj
Summary: His name was Han, Lu Han. And everything was in its perfect little place in his perfect little world. It was like that for 18 perfect years. Perfect. Or so he thought, until he met the old man next door.





	1. temptation

**Author's Note:**

> This story turned out exactly how I didn't want it too, it was supposed to go in a completely different direction and it was supposed to be nicer than whatever the fuck this ended up being. I hope you end up understanding whatever the hell it is I wrote. I'm not even sure I understand it. It's got aliens, adventures and cute stuff. It's not completely romantic, but Luhan centric and more self discovering for him.
> 
> Inspired from The Little Prince (if you love children and the idea of innocence, I highly recommend this cute little animated film. It’s beautiful and French and animated and I think it may be hands down one of my top 10 favorite films.)
> 
> Little bit of psychological things mentioned; schizophrenia, specifically. Not completely in depth.

There was an ocean, vast and everlasting as the word allowed it. A breeze tickled gently through loosely knitted locks. The smell of salt and deep ocean had been alien, yet so familiar.

There was no depression of foot prints in the sand, nothing that showed a trail. It was almost as if the boy was meant to be there; a boy with hair so blonde it glistened as gold in the rising sun.

It was a dream, Luhan knew that much. But the blonde male before him was a mystery; for he had never seen anyone with such brightly colored hair. Luhan wanted the male to turn around, just to garner a glimpse at who was behind the curious back.

All it took was a blink for the boy to disappear and replace itself with a dark and ominous figure. Luhan reached a hand out and tried to call out after the boy but there was no point, this figure had taken over. There was no definite shape to the mass of evil, only two red eyes that bore down on him. Two red eyes that seemed so utterly disgusted in everything Luhan stood for. The teen had not even known what he stood for, but he could feel all kinds of suffocation and negativity radiate from the beast. He flinched and crouched down into a ball, covering his head and shielding himself away from the monster. It was all he _could_ do.

✴✧✴

The teen woke with a startle, his head lifting from the cold glass it was pressed against.

“You alright?” A familiar voice had sounded next to the teen as he began to understand his surroundings. He had been seated in a rental car and had been driving for almost three hours since the airport with his father.

“…Yeah.” The teen shifted and calmed his racing heart. He often had odd dreams like that, though, he never did understand them. He had figured it was his subconscious being strung about in its creative state and projecting images he might have seen earlier in that particular day. After all, he had seen many blonde haired people since arriving in America. And he had probably seen a movie poster with an evil creature lurking about.

“You seemed like you were having a bad dream..” His father pressed as he kept focus on the road.

“No.. It was nothing.” The teen had fixed his position and leaned his head back against the window.

The houses had started looking more and more alike. White with black shutters, Cape styled, two story and all very similar. There was something pleasing to the teen’s eye as he watched them pass by.

“How far are we from the house?”

“Just a few more minutes… Hey, you brought your acceptance letter with you right?”

“Yes, why?”

“Just making sure.”

Luhan had leaned down and grabbed the bag that rested in between his feet. The book bag held all the truly important documents and items that the family of two had been too afraid to send by mail. The teen reached down and pulled out a rather deep maroon colored folder. Inside held his acceptance letter to Yale University. On the top of one of the letters had been the red and white crest of the dorm he would be apart of during his stay at the Yale college.

Underneath all the formalities and titles of the school had been his name. It made him scrunch his nose up at the way it was arranged.

“ _Han Lu_ ”

His name was Han, yes, but Lu Han had been his full name. It had been like that since he was born and it would be like that until the day he died. It was how everyone he had ever known had addressed him. He could not imagine a world where people would call him Han Lu over Lu Han. But that was just the kind of character Luhan was: he spoke when spoken to and behaved as the perfect ideal son; he studied hard and played little. He was like a study machine, studying and studying and studying... And studying. He had little friends and little social skills, but at least he knew to solve parenthesis first in a math equation at the young age of eight. A wonderfully hardworking little nut he was.

Mother had not been in the picture. She worked far away and never had time to visit Luhan; but she would send him small gifts from the places she would travel. They were postcards from the bright and colorful lands of the Earth that Luhan never really thought anything of; they kept him stimulated enough. They were beautifully alphabetized, down to every last character and letter in a fashion no one thought possible.

It is easy to tell a lot about a person by their room. For Luhan, it was beyond easy to read. His room was clean, neat and organized to the very last particle of dust. Nothing was out of place or in its wrong order. Clothes were ironed once, flawless, then twice with a swift spray of starch to keep it as such. Once they were ironed they were hung on thin plastic hangers in a color coded fashion in his closet (the hangers also had a specific color to a specific type of clothing.) The majority of Luhan’s clothes always seemed to have a great medium of dull and rather gray colors. Pitiful really. Even the hamper was full of dirty clothes that were worn once and folded neatly in place. The scary part about it was that his father was the exact same persnickety way. Both of them would wake up at six-thirty in the morning, turn their alarms off and find a bathroom. They would brush their teeth in synch, wash their face in synch and take turns using the toilet. It was a set rhythm that happened every morning. The teen’s father would make a quick nutritional breakfast, leave it on the table for Luhan and get ready for work in which he had to be in at eight-o’clock for. It was a nine to five office job, the greatest stimulus work could offer, really.

If Luhan was not on his way to school after breakfast then he would work out. After finishing he would then go to his room and study all that he could from books published by professors in Cambridge and Harvard, a true A plus student he was. Luhan was also fluent in four languages, Mandarin, Cantonese, English and Korean. He was in the process of learning Vietnamese, Spanish and Japanese.

At this point in Luhan’s systematic life you could say that he was robot, a machine, really. Taking in information, processing it, applying it to his life and repeat. It almost seemed like there was no real joy to the intake of knowledge, rather, it was a conditioned response. He had to do it, there was no breaking the habit.

However, the majority of that was about to change. At the ripe age of eighteen Luhan had found himself accepted into the University of Yale. No, he did not have the money for it, nor did he have the money for Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, or Princeton. Though there was one university willing to accept poor Luhan for the smart bean he was. Not only did he come from an elite high school in Beijing, but all his entrance exams scored with the highest ratings allotted. Yale saw potential and decided that Luhan would be one of their pity students; desperately hanging on scholarships and grants to get by the school’s funds and would probably drop out within the first year. Scholarships were no problem for Luhan though, in fact, scholarships were seeking _him_ to apply rather than the other way around.

With the new addition of a school the teen’s father had also applied to a new job close by. That meant the two would be changing locations from the hectic city of Beijing to a suburban town outside of any major city in the United States. It was a change that Luhan was most definitely apprehensive about. It was one thing to spend school years abroad, but it was another thing to live in a new environment for the rest of one's life. It was a change he was not willing to take up, but there was nothing he could do. He would smile his for his father and let the man make preparations for their new home.

Time would not prove slow for the teen; each event fell like a domino, one by one fast and efficient. Before Luhan knew it he had graduated high school and was on a plane to his new home. Luhan had little friends, they were acquaintances really, so he was missed by little did little missing. What he would miss was the apartment he shared with his father, a home he knew for eighteen long years. But he knew change was a thing of life and he would have to learn to accept it (even if it did make him scrunch his nose in distaste.)

It was hardly summer yet, still the bright and middle months of spring. There had been so much green with trees starting their blooms and flowers budding. It was colorful and so green that Luhan had suddenly felt calm about the whole moving situation.

“Alright, here we are.” The teen’s father had announced as they pulled into a driveway that had a “For Sale” sign taped over with “sold”.

Luhan looked at the house with intense criticism as he removed his seat belt and left the car. He spoke no words, his eyes focusing on all the things he did not like.

The house seemed too big for just two people to live. The siding had specs of mold covering it and splashes of mud trailing up the concrete portion. The only thing that seemed nice about the house was that it was white with black shutters like the rest of the houses.

“One sixty-three, Epoch Drive. East Haven, 06523. Make sure you memorize that.” His father had slammed the door and stood with his hands upon his hips.

Luhan made a mental note of the address. He looked to his right, all the houses had been perfectly the same. Lawns mowed at the same height ended in the same length, the only thing that differed about one or two were the lawn ornaments. That made Luhan scrunch his nose up. Otherwise, everything was in perfect balance. The houses were white, Cape, and adorned with black shutters (occasionally, red or blue.) Small bushes separated driveways, and eventually thick, tall fences separated backyards—a little privacy was always nice. There were a few people walking the streets, two walking their dogs and another jogging his way to a victory Luhan hadn’t much cared for.

Luhan then looked to the left and frowned upon seeing a dark green and red Victorian styled house, he groaned internally. The house was large, too large to match the rest of the two story Cape’s in the neighborhood. It was an obnoxious array of dark putrid greens, mixed with cranberry siding—it stood out like a sore thumb. There were trees growing in the backyard that seemed much bigger than everyone else’s and bushes that poked out the very tip of the fence. The lawn was long, unkempt and in dire need of a weeding.

The house was down right and plainly wrong. So so so so wrong. It was so misshapen and unappealing to Luhan that all he could do was stiffen up and take a deep breath.

As Luhan stood there his father joined him, admiring the place and how wonderful it was to finally have an abode of his own.

“Well. This is it.” Luhan’s father said proudly.

“Yeah.” Luhan muttered, the wind picking up his silken voice.

“Our new lives begin.” Luhan’s father tried to brighten the mood, knowing full well Luhan had been a little down in the dumps lately.

“Yup..” The teen had been absent minded, he was too busy thinking about the house of disarray next door.

“Oh don’t worry about that house, Hannie. I’m sure it’s just abandoned and no one can take care of it. But that’s not our problem, so let’s just focus on making our house the best it possibly can. Hm?”

“Yeah, sure.” Luhan nodded as he turned back to his dad.

“Great.” His father smiled at him. The man stood just a foot taller, his face weathered by the amount of work and stress he had induced over the years. His face had been peppered in a light five o’clock shadow from the last few days of traveling. While he stared at his son he grimaced and took a hand and licked it. He fussed with the teen's black locks, trying to style it so that it was not in the boy’s eyes.

“Dad…” Luhan bemoaned and pushed his father’s hands away.

“What? You’ve had the same haircut for so many years now.. I want to see your pretty eyes.”

Luhan rolled his eyes. He quite liked his bowl shaped haircut.

The teen’s father sighed, “Alright, help me with the luggage.”

The two made their way back to the trunk of the rental car, taking out book bags and suitcases full of the items they could carry onto the plane.

“When will the rest of our stuff be here?”

“In exactly three days, twelve o’clock sharp. So we’ll just have to live off of what he have until then.”

The two sauntered into the vacant house, it had been void of all kinds of life. Hard wood floors just a bit scratched up from previous furniture. _Nothing a little sanding couldn’t get rid of._ He thought meticulously. Walls were white, a color he favored more than anything in his world, less the small prints of black that lined the ceiling closest to the vents. Even small handprints about the height of small human’s trailed the wall leading up the stairs. _Just a bit of hot water, elbow grease and baking soda will get those all out._ He added to his mental list once again. Spots of unfinished sweeping left crumbs and wrappers on the floor, cable wires poked out from the wall; all minute things that could have made this empty house an ideal living space.

To the left of the entrance were the stairs, and to the right was the living room. Just a path between the stairs and living room lead straight to the kitchen and a spare bathroom. The kitchen made Luhan happier than he anticipated with its steel plated refrigerator, oven and stove hat. The colors were uniform. However, it was also a feat of elbow grease and bleach that would make it _perfect_. Luhan nearly smirked with the pleasure of such thoughts.

The upstairs proved to be covered in the same lightly colored hardwood floors and specks of badly swept areas. Upstairs was a little warm and the air thicker with dusted mess. This was now first on Luhan’s list to fix. If he were to live up here then he needed to breathe!

He chose his room as the first room on the right, his father’s being the master bedroom all the way at the end of the hall. A full bathroom covered in tiles of purple and white had been across from Lu’s room—the pastel cleanliness made Luhan’s heart flutter with joy. Oh happy days were away. There were spare closets, a room for laundry (that came with a washer and dryer) and even a basement to store the unnecessary. The basement was musty, cold, damp and dreary. It smelt oddly of gasoline and had no unity whatsoever. He figured there would be no point to fixing it up since he couldn’t imagine a need to be down there, but it still did not stop the crawling his skin did upon the sight of a largely woven spider web. He ran as fast as his slender legs could take him and slammed the door tight, forgetting that his father was still down there.

It needed work, but the house was a big fat check mark in Luhan’s agenda.

With a smile strewn on his pink lips, he went to exit the house to finish taking in the rest of the luggage. Regrettably, as he stepped onto the front porch, three monsters ran out from under and into the thicket of bushes on his right. Luhan jumped back, arms flailing at the vile little creatures of filth that had disappeared into the shaking bushes. The stance may have made him feel protected, however, others would think of it as a bit silly. He released his arms and carefully eyed the garbage house to his right, a glare burning holes into the very siding.

Luhan scrunched his nose up one last time at the disoriented house, finally, then ignoring it and going about his duty of emptying the car.

The house of horror next door would take some getting used to.

✴✧✴

Dinner was a disappointment. Luhan was eating alone as his father was out to work. And to top it off the advertisement of “Best Chinese food east of The Wall” was nevertheless the greatest understatement he had ever encountered. The chicken was rubbery and coated in a thick layer of gooey breading. The flavor of the sauce was too sweet and could use a dash of something that he couldn’t quite figure out. It just wasn’t very appetizing on his taste buds. The rice was satisfying enough but what even was an egg roll? Was it supposed to be a spring roll? Because it sure did not hit the nail on the head. Its skin was flaccid and the inside tasted like someone threw up freezer burn. It was hardly the stuff he could call “the best” let alone Chinese food.

Despite the disappointment in dinner there was just another factor that poked at the back of his mind as he ate. The fact that he was eating alone again. It would have been nice to eat dinner with his father the first night in but that was out of the question. The man was working on his first day in the new country, who knew how long that would take? Luhan was definitely used to eating alone, but something in the deepest part of his chest would always tick with a flare of emotion that he ignored for the last decade. It was a feeling that he did not understand when he was little, so he buried it away and went on with his life.

As Luhan stared at the empty seat across from him he could have sworn he heard a child scream in the distance. He stopped chewing to listen, yet no noise sounded. He looked around the empty kitchen for whatever might have made the noise and scared himself with thoughts of dread. Was it a robbery? It was not uncommon to have a break-in the first week of a move in. When the sound never came again he shrugged and shoveled more rice into his mouth. Not a moment later did he think he heard the noise again, wistfully pulling him out of his dinner once more. The noise was slightly louder, clearer even, yet it frightened him as he looked beyond the darkness of the living room entrance. The noise sounded again, more prolonged than before. He sat up and turned around in the direction of the odd noise. It sounded like it came from the window at the other end of the kitchen. He waited for the noise again, only to hear the slight moan at the end. He stood up and walked to the window to see what it was. There, out the window, was a clear view of the ugly Victorian house; the tall wooden fence blocking the two yards. Virtually there was nothing in the dark except the lone sitting figure of a cat on the top of the fence. The cat’s body jerked as the noise sounded again signaling Luhan that the dying child sound was, in fact, just a cat. One of the vile creatures that scuttled past him earlier in the day.

Luhan snickered with a scrunch of his lip. “Gross.”

He brushed the horrid sounding feline off and walked back to the kitchen table to finish dinner. As he rummaged through the bag for any items he might have missed for dinner he found three fortune cookies and a slew of duck, soy and mustard sauces. He put the packets of sauces to the side and eyes a particular fortune cookie with interest. He picked the one up in the very middle and opened it. He sniffed it, letting the processed cookie and plastic engulf his senses. He snapped the item in half as he was not sure how to bite into the thing, but as he did he was surprised to find the white piece of a paper and lettering. He bit the cookie and slowly chewed, it wasn’t a horrible taste, but it still wasn’t great. He did not mind it all too much though. One side of the paper he pulled out had a few words printed, they read: The love of your life is stepping into your planet this summer. Luhan scrunched his nose up at this and turned the paper over.

_Whatever that meant_. He thought.

On the other side held a word in Mandarin and how to pronounce it. The word was ‘stars’. Underneath had been the “Lucky Numbers” portion. However, only a single number read for the numbers, it was the lone number three. Luhan crumpled the paper up and threw out the plastic and paper. Just a load of human enterprise to make money.

 It was not until later that the noise would disrupt him into a seething mess. He had been diligently studying for the first week of class assignments when the hellish cat kept singing its dissonant tune. Luhan stood to his feet and stormed to the window to look for the cat, it was exactly where he last saw it. He stormed through the kitchen to the sliding glass doors that lead to a concrete patio. He hesitated only for a moment as to whether or not he should walk out outside in his inside slippers, but quickly made his mind up. The concrete ended just a ways before the fence, leaving a patch of grass between Lu and the cat. He utilized every bit of what he could and stood at the very edge to shoo the cat away—not daring to step in the green substance. He did so by flinging his arms in and out toward the cat, yet the feline simply stared, its curious tail waving back and forth behind the fence.

“Shoo, go away. Scram!” He whisper yelled at the gray tabby.

The cat simply stared. It mostly found amusement from the teen’s flailing limbs. But after a moment, the cat turned around and hopped off the fence into the Victorian yard. It was a weird notion considering Luhan had stopped shooing before the cat actually decided to leave. He smiled to himself in a small victory nonetheless. He could now study in peace. But as he was settling back down at the kitchen table, he heard the faint raucous mews of two cats. It made him fill with irate. This time he went out in his slippers and held tightly at the end of a broom.

“You went ahead and got a friend.” Luhan shook his head, the cat had some nerve. He took his broom and faced the bristle side toward the cats, poking at them on his very tippy toes—so not to touch his slippers on the grass. One cat basked in the full moon’s light as the brush poked its chest, the other swatted at the bristles. Luhan could not whack them, but with the way his patience was wearing thin he might have.

“Alright, I’m going to push you very hard off this ledge if you don’t quiet down.” Ironically enough, the cats had been quiet since Luhan had stepped outside. The two cats stared Lu down, an interested sort of gaze fixed on their faces as they did so. After a moment of staring, the two cats turned around smoothly and jumped back into the neighbor’s yard.

“Huh…” Luhan harrumphed as he stood there, thinking about all the fuss he was going through with those darn cats. He would have to have a talk with the neighbor tomorrow about the future ruckus the cats would create. But for the time being he had to straighten himself out and focus only on his studying. There was no time to idly skulk about cats, he needed to get these assignments done!

The teen marched right back into the house and sat at the kitchen table. Oh how he studied, not even remembering to welcome the beautiful silence the cats were now providing. He was on a roll, he could probably dish out ten pages worth of notes for the rest of the chapter and get to bed on time. After all, bedtime was essential, he had a routine he needed to stick to. However, just as he was hitting the last few pages, an annoying and ear splitting chorus interrupted his blissful studying. His hand went off and started writing down all the angry things going through his head. By the time he realized he had been messing up his notes he was half way through a sentence. He stared at the paper in utter shock.

Raging with discomfort and the inability to get work done, Luhan stood up and stormed after the broom. Now he was beyond irate, he would have to really push those cats away just to get some peace and quiet.

As he marched through the doors and patio the three cats immediately shushed. All three of them were watching with great intent as Luhan stormed over but he was too blinded to realize that the cats found him to be the most interesting.

“That’s enough out of you. I’m trying to study and you keep interrupting.” Luhan stood on his very tippy toes again as he used more force to push the cats off; this time not caring he was in the grass.

Before the teen could move any further his head had felt the slight pang of a sharp object.

“What the…” Luhan grabbed the top of his head and looked up. “Hey!”

“Hi yourself!” A voice yelled. It was hoarse and low, like that of a monster.

The voice scared Luhan into paralysis. The moonlight had been shining just behind the house, leaving a dark shadow to hinder the teen’s sight.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Luhan’s head snapped over to an open window where he caught the sight of an old man leaning his head out. The man’s head was large, old and saggy like that of cellophane. Luhan did not know what to say or do, so he stared while retracting his body and broom.

“Well?” The man instigated, he was a bit intimidating with the way his voice thundered about.

“I-I uh.. Um..” Luhan _finally_ managed out. It was a feat he managed to say anything at all.

“Goodness child, I don’t want to be here all night! It’s going to rain!”

And in that moment, Luhan looked to the sky and furrowed his brows in utter confusion. There was not a cloud in sight. Only miles and miles of night sky and the millions of stars it possessed. Luhan’s eyes glimmered upon the sight of the stars, never before had he seen so many. Once when he was very little he saw stars; it was while hiking mountains with his family. But the city of Beijing never offered a view quite like this. Beautiful and everlasting. It made a warmth surge through him as he gazed upon the delicate creatures of the sky.

But his attention was taken to the window of the old man when a loud crash emitted and startled him. However, the old man was nowhere in sight of the window. The cats watched Luhan intently, their tails swaying in constant stupor behind the fence.

“Ah-ha!” A voice sounded from within the window, it was distant but excited nonetheless.

“Here.” The old man had returned, holding a small round object in hand as if meaning to throw it.

Luhan’s eyes grew bigger when he realized that the man meant to throw it in his direction. There was no other further warning and the object was thrown. Luhan scrambled about and caught the object before it touched the ground.

When he caught the small thing, he stared at it for a good moment in disbelief. It was a foam ball of the sort with an x carved on one side.

“That should keep the rain from getting ya.”

“Wha—”

“Also, I wouldn’t step so much out there in our nice shoes or barefoot. The cats like to use it as their litter box.”

Luhan stepped back and looked down quickly, making sure there was no poop around. Low and behold, the tip of his white slipper had been adorned with a freshly made stain. He lifted it up and caught the sight of a pressed mud pie. When he looked down he saw the small brown rounds and vocally addressed his disgust.

“Well, goodnight then.” The man proceeded to walk away from the window and left the blackness of his window open for all the world to see.

“But sir! You left your window open!” Luhan tried to yell but there was no answer. As he looked down to the fence, the three cats had also since long gone. When on Earth did they disappear anyways?

Luhan shook his head and took a deep breath in, there was just a bit too much going on for him and too much that he could really process. He eventually looked back down to his hand, noticing that he was still clutching onto the red ball. He squeezed it once and noted its relative hollowness. He squeezed it twice and let the rough exterior graze the palm of his hand.

_What on earth could this possibly do to keep from the rain?_ He questioned fervently. But quickly shook his head when he realized that there was still not a cloud in sight. It would not be raining anytime soon, that much Luhan could deduce.

Lu then put his finger through the x in the back of ball. It sat perfectly at the tip of his finger, like a miniature tomato. It was odd, so very odd. He wiggled his finger and watched as the red object bobbed. He grimaced in response and desperately hoped that the old man next door was not all too insane.

As Luhan wondered his way back to studying, his father pulled into the driveway. The headlights seeped into the house, lighting cracks and crevices that once used to be dark in the newly occupied home. It made the teen’s heart race with glee, simply because it meant father was home. He scrambled from his books and raced to the door, waiting patiently for the man to enter.

Lu would never admit to it, but he waited at the very edge of the staircase in excitement. His hand holding tightly onto the railing and his limbs tense with every second he waited for the jingle of keys to open the door. It was always like this, ever since he was little. He would wait for his parents to open the door and greet them just before bed. But as time grew on and work got later, Luhan spent many a night disappointed when his parents did not walk through the door. But he was glad when the jingling of keys alerted him to straighten his back.

“Welcome home.” Luhan smiled as his father opened the door.

“Oh, Lu.” The man smiled just as brightly back after the initial shock. “I’m home.” There was a softness to his old features upon the sight of his son. “How was your day? Everything was okay while I was gone?”

“Yup. I cleaned upstairs and made our beds. Then I studied, ordered dinner and finished—” Luhan caught himself when he realized that he, in fact, did not finish studying. He still had three pages more to read in the chapter.

“Finished…?” His father asked as he removed his shoes and hung his tan business coat up.

“I-I almost finished my studying.”

His father grimaced, “Well that’s fine then. Did you order pizza?”

“No, from the Chinese place. It’s pretty awful. I’ll heat you up a plate.”

“Thank you.” His father chuckled as the two maneuvered through the house. The shorter of the two bustling about and making his father a heaping plate of the greasy food.

As Luhan’s father placed his suitcase on the dinner table he noticed the red foam ball next to the pile of study books.

“Hannie? What’s this?” He picked the round item up and inspected it.

Luhan turned around and tensed once he realized what was in his father’s hands.

“Oh uh… Um..” He wasn’t so sure of what to do. Should he tell the truth or fib? This had been a first in a very long time for poor Luhan. He was always the type to give straight facts, never beating around the bush. Yet there was something he just did not want to share with his father about the man next door.

“I-I found it.”

His father raised a brow, “Found it where?”

“Upstairs. While I was cleaning.” He let the words slide from his mouth smoothly, as the lie slithered through his bones and settled in an unwanted and uncomfortable fashion.

“Wow, that’s weird. I guess the previous owners must have been clowns?” He flung the red ball up and caught it with a swipe.

“…Clowns?”

“This is a clown nose. See?” He quickly walked over to Lu and popped the red ball on his nose. It was uncomfortable and it felt as if it would fall off in seconds, it made him scrunch his nose up.

His brows were knit, his mind fuddled with all kinds of questions, however, there was just one standing out the most; _How the hell would this protect me from the rain_?

✴✧✴

Cold crept its way up Luhan’s legs through the sheets. The room had little insulation and made the rather chilly nights break through and rattle his young bones. Money was tight at the moment so turning the heat on was least desirable if they wanted to keep the house. The wooden floor made no better substitute for a sleeping spot. He was beyond restless, his back arching and tense, never finding its way to the ground. He just wanted his soft bed back home. Lu had half a mind to leave his room and slip into the covers with his father just down the hall but he was just a little too cold to gather energy to leave. Instead, he stared blankly at the ceiling for a while, waiting for the desire of slumber to overcome him.

As he laid there, he could have sworn he felt the weight of his sheets shift at the very bottom of his feet. The feeling stopped almost just as soon as his body could perceive it. He brushed the movement off and deducted it as the sheets simply settling against his legs differently. But the movement started again in a slow pace and crawled its way just in between his ankles. Luhan jolted with the sudden feeling and snapped upright.

There at the bottom of his feet was a cat; more specifically, the gray tabby that was beyond persistent in interrupting his studying time. Luhan’s heart had been gently thrumming against his chest, a pulse quick enough to show he was agitated. His mouth was parted just slightly, out of breath from the initial shock. Its tail swayed in that mesmerizing tune, a look of intrigue flashing across the feline’s eyes as it closely watched the teen. Luhan could have sworn he saw the creature’s lips turning up into a smirk.

“Wh-Wha—”

“Han? Are you alright?” Luhan’s father suddenly asked as he stood in the doorway of the teen’s room.

Luhan whipped his head toward his father, he had not even heard the man walk down the hall. Luhan looked back at his feet expecting to see the cat boring down at him. The cat was not there. This shocked Luhan once more so he searched the room quickly for any signs of the feline.

“Hannie?” His father pressed once more, a tired look of concern on his features.

“Y-Yeah. I’m fine.” Luhan nodded, throwing a meek smile to comfort the groggy man.

“Alright…” He trudged on into the bathroom across the way.

Lu’s gaze lingered on the bathroom door just a little longer than intended as he listened to the heavy stream emit from it.

_I imagined it. Yeah. I’m fine. Stress. Just stress from a new place. And jet lag, that is also a factor._ Lu thought to himself as his father flushed and turned the light off in the bathroom. A light “g’night” was mumbled somewhere along the way. It comforted Luhan to the point that he settled on his back and stared at the ceiling. But as soon as he did so a flash of dark had caught his eye. He snapped his head back toward his open door and there he saw the cat again.

It was in the same crouched position, nearly touching all of the ground like it had on his feet. This time, Luhan was sure of a smile. A smile mischievous in nature and tail mesmerizing all the same. The sight of the cat had startled Luhan again, his body frozen upon the sight of the cat once more.

Before he could make a sound, the cat pounced. It sprinted for him in the moonlit room, the two windows behind the teen providing him with so. Luhan instinctively covered his face in his sheets as the cat charged for him.

But all he could hear was the thumping of the cat’s weight against the wooden floor before a deep sleep overcame the best of him.

✴✧✴

_Boozt boozt boozt boozt._

The 8AM alarms resounded throughout the small suburban house. Luhan shot his eyes wide open to the sound of his own. He was tucked neatly into his comforter, a soft and peaceful feeling resonating throughout his body as he tried to mentally wake it up. There was slight hesitation as he contemplated turning off his alarm. Which was _odd_. Luhan always shot a hand out to turn his phone off when the alarm went off. When his mind stopped fuzzing he did just that, sat up and turned the rather annoying item off.

“Good morning.” His father suddenly grumbled out of nowhere in his sleep deprived voice.

“Morning.” Luhan grumbled back.

“Jet lag is really getting me today.”

“Mm.” Luhan agreed curtly as he watched his father slink into the bathroom. That must have been it—that was why he felt so sluggish that particular morning. Yeah, of course that was it.

He rubbed his eyes, yawning as he did so. However, that was when the sudden memories of the cat from last night flashed by. He jumped and removed the comforter, looking desperately for the cat. He could not remember at all what happened after the cat had charged at him, it was blank in his memory. But as he looked around there was no sight of a cat. He looked around the room, yet there was still nothing. No animal, no shadow, no cat. The sun, instead, was rising in the sky and left a beautiful, crystal-clear blue. Even though it was just a peek through the window that Luhan could see it still looked wonderful. The teen finally got out of his bed and went on his merry way of folding his sheets and heading down the stairs to start breakfast. The only available food had been the Chinese leftovers, Luhan wasn’t so sure his stomach could handle all the grease so early in the morning. So he heated up a plate filled mostly of rice for him and his father.

“Okay, I’ll hopefully be back around six, but they’re still training me so who knows how that will go.” His father said as he paced around the kitchen looking for something to drink.

“That’s fine. I’ll be home, studying and cleaning.”

“Don’t just stay cooped up in the house, go take a walk or something. Exercise! Visit the neighborhood, see if there’s a convenience store nearby. I know there’s a beach not too far from here, check it out will you?”

“But, dad, I have to study.” Luhan slightly whined.

“You have a whole summer break to study. I’m sure it would be fine if you missed a few days.”

Luhan quieted and internally grimaced. He had a set schedule he needed to follow if he ever wanted to get his work done in time, and that required three hours a day of studying for each class he had summer work for. The majority of them were honors classes that required a heavy amount of prior class work so he needed to get them done.

“Oh, I guess it rained.” Luhan’s father suddenly said as he drank a cup of tap water, he had been gazing out the sink window.

Luhan swallowed the very same time he gasped at his father’s statement and chocked on his food for a good few seconds.

“It what?” He got up and stood next to his father.

“Yeah, see? The patio is all wet.”

It was not a lie, there on the patio had been receding puddles and the dark color wet concrete often possessed.

Luhan furrowed his brows together. “But there aren’t any clouds. And there weren’t any last night.”

“Well, it _is_ spring. Flash showers I’m sure. Must have happened while we were sleeping. Funny…The weather didn’t say anything.”

“Right…”

_But how could that old man tell if it was going to rain?_

_…_

Later that afternoon Luhan had found himself outside of the house, sweeping and picking up all the little obscurities that bothered him. Like the way weeds protruded over the concrete path that lead to the porch. Or the way the white paint on the house was covered in dirt or black. The house would be perfect for the official move in tomorrow.

However, as he had been kneeled over in the path of the front yard he caught the glimpse of a wishing tail from under the hedge. Something clicked in Luhan’s brain that told him to go after the cat, so he stood to his feet. He wiped his hands on his sweatpants and quietly tip toed his way to the hedge, hoping not to scare the naturally skittish creature away. The closer he approached the less he was aware of what was going on on the other side of the brush. Luhan paused just as he was close enough to bend down and grab the feline by its tail. However, the moment he bent over was the moment the cat disappeared fully under the hedge. Luhan sucked his teeth and got on the ground to look for the animal. When he was on the ground he could see the movement of the crouching tabby walk along the length of the hedge. Luhan followed instinctively.

“Stop right there. Hey! You—” He mumbled here and there as he crawled and tried to reach a hand out to grab the cat.

However, before he knew it, his hand was reaching out at the very end of the hedge, the end closest to the main street. As he reached out, his hand grabbed onto something solid and rough to the touch. The more he spread his hand out on the object the more he could feel the odd outline of a person’s foot and shoe laces.

Luhan shot his head up and pulled his hand away. He crawled over to the other side of hedge while keeping low to the ground, trying to look for the source of whatever it was he was touching. But the further he crossed around the hedge the more he realized he was crossing into his neighbor’s yard. And there was a man standing tall and hunched. His arms crossed and a stern face upon his features as he bore his eyes down on the male. Luhan could just barely see the man’s face, as the sun was shining behind and causing a great glare on the Lu’s straining eyes.

“You again.” The man said in a deep a raspy voice. It was so utterly familiar, like the old man from last night.

Luhan blinked a couple times before he shifted to get a good look at the man’s face. It was, indeed, the man from last night. The man who had given him the clown nose.

“First you try pushing my cats off the fence, now you try to assault me. This already doesn’t seem like the start of a neighborly acquainted relationship.”

Luhan stood to his feet and bowed his head slightly to the old man. Upon closer inspection, Luhan could see just how old this man really was. The distance and darkness from last night really did play a trick on his eyes. The man looked to be in his seventies, old and hunched in every way. Yet there was a regalness to him that tried to keep itself noticed, as if he was once taller than he already is. As if he was hard worker at some point in his life. His hair was crazy and whiter than snow, the stubble on his face had been more peppered in color but nonetheless aged. His face sagged in wrinkles, his eye bags protruding and laugh lines prominent. He was very old.

“I-I , I-I-I—”

“Out with it kid! Don’t beat around the bush!”

Luhan paused for a moment, he had never heard of the expression before. “I-I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble.” Luhan bowed his head even further.

“Whoa, you have a pretty intense accent there. Where you from kid? Sounds Asian.” The old man sounded amused even.

“Ch-China, sir.”

“Sir!” The man scoffed. “Sir was my old Lieutenant, please call me Seth.”

“Seth…?” Luhan let the name fall from his tongue, the pronunciation was off, he was sure. But he liked how smooth the word flowed from the top of his mouth to the front.

“No no, Zzzzzeeh-thhhhhh,” The old man let his mouth shape the words in exaggeration.

“Zzzaahhh-tt’hh.”

“Ah close enough… Mr. Park is fine. China you say, though?”

Luhan nodded.

“What the hell you come all the way out here for?” The old man leaned in, he seemed curious about Luhan.

“U-Uh.. School.”

“School?! Well I’ll be damned, where you going?”

“Yale…” Luhan muttered.

“Ya—?! I thought you were a high school student! You look so young, nearly thought you were a girl last night until you said a few words just now.”

Luhan scrunched his nose up.

“Unless, you _are_ a girl… You aren’t one of those men that looks like a girl but _are_ girls but is actually a guy? Or one of those girls that looks like a guy but is a guy when they’re actually a girl?”

Luhan stared for a moment, trying to process whatever it was the man was trying to say.

“I am a male...” Luhan finalized.

“Ah. Very nice.” The old man’s face turned to mild shock before relaxing and moving on. “Little dull..” He mumbled, more of grumbled to a point that Luhan could not hear. “Well. I live next door as you can see. I don’t believe I caught your name.” The man held out a hand, a rugged and calloused old hand.

“Han, Han Lu.”

“Han Lu? What kinda name is that?”

Luhan thought the question over but answered when the man beckoned a face. “I-It’s my name..”

He leaned back from the teen’s face, an eyebrow raised high on his swollen old face. “Well isn’t it like Lu Han or something? Since you people say the last name first or something?”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

“Well I’d go change your name when you get the chance. People gonna be chewing you alive once they find out you’re a foreigner.”

Luhan was taken aback by the sudden words.

“But my name is my name.”

“Yes. And people are rude. Besides, it’s just something to think about.”

Something struck across Luhan’s heart. It was a feeling he wasn’t all too familiar with, but he knew it to be something of pain. Something of hurt for what this man had to offer.

“Anyways I have—” Before the man could finish, the distinct noise of wood creaking and cracking and eventually crashing distorted their attention. Before either of them knew it, one of the large trees in the old man’s backyard had fallen over and gone crashing into the fence in Luhan’s backyard.

“Well. Shit.” The old man announced quite boldly.

Luhan’s mouth sat agape as he watched the tree ricochet against the ground. A slight pang of guilt washed over the old man’s eyes.

“I was wondering when the tree was going to finally die.”

Luhan looked at the old man in mild horror.

“I can fix that.” The man covered quickly, he could tell Luhan was not a happy person.

“We don’t have insurance yet..” The teen mumbled under his breath.

“What was that?”

“I said we don’t have insurance yet… My dad’s papers haven’t been settled yet.” Luhan sighed.

“Don’t worry about that. Nothing a little good ole fashion elbow grease can’t fix.” The man lifted an arm and pulled his sleeve back to show a strong arm. It was comical the way the arm possessed very little muscle.

The man began to walk toward the back yard, his clothes only slight in sagging. They seemed to be a size just too big. He had been decked in overalls that were worn with time, hand-patched and torn. Underneath laid a dirty looking yellow dress shirt. It was quite the combination all in all.

As the two walked the length of the fence on to the Victorian house lawn, Luhan couldn’t help but notice how very wild the place seemed. The walls were covered in ivies and molds while the grass seemed just a tad too over grown. But as they neared the tree Luhan could feel his heart sink into the bottom of his chest. The tree had completely crushed the fence, splintered every which way and warped. It looked like there would be no possible way to get the place looking like new.

“Damn, that’s a shame.” The man observed.

“How did this happen?”

The old man paused and thought to himself. “Must have been the Beavers.”

Luhan froze and watched as the man left to go look for something unbeknownst to him.

“Wh-What are beavers?” Luhan dared to ask. He had never heard of the name before in the English language.

“You don’t know—?” The man questioned as he tried lifting a heavy and rather rusty looking chainsaw.

Luhan slowly shook his head. How was he supposed to know what a beaver was?

The man coughed, almost as if hiding a smirk. “Beavers are these aquatic beasts. They only come out twice a year and when they do? It’s to eat everything in sight. Who knows, your house might be next.”

Luhan gulped and leaned over his shoulder to check the yard on the other side of the fence. Surely this man was lying…? But what would he know? He had never lived in America before yesterday, these creatures called Beavers could be real and dangerous.

“How do you know it was Beaver?” Luhan asked cautiously as the man dragged the rusty item over, he seemed to be having a rather difficult time bending over.

“Well.” The man stood up with a hand on his lower back, slowly and creaky. “You see the way the tree is scraping at the ends, where it snapped? Those are teeth marks. Teeth marks that are significant to the Beaver.”

Luhan turned pale.

The man watched Luhan for a moment, watching as the teen lost all feeling. He quickly laughed, airy and almost forced. The corners of his eyes lifting far into wrinkles that nearly surrounded all of his eyes. “I’m just messin’ with ya kid. Beavers don’t live in the suburbs. Only near the woods and rivers. They’re just oversized rodents that use sticks and wood to damn up rivers for living. This tree was just old and I guess its roots weren’t strong enough to stay footed… Lighten up kid. Use your imagination.”

The man’s words rang obnoxiously like sirens in the teen’s head.

“…Also, here. Can you lift this for me?”

“S-Sure.” Luhan nodded his head to hide his bright red cheeks. He then bent over and found it fairly easy to lift the rusty and old object, but his hands felt tough and uncomfortable against the decaying object.

The old man asked for the chainsaw and took over. “Hm. Now let’s see if this thing still works. Been awhile since I had used it. Probably old gasoline and water in it. Welp!” He began to pull hard on the rope. “Only one way to find out.” He pulled hard, a total of three times before the saw made any actual noise. But as it did, a cloud of black smoke puffed and the saw made a few noises that sounded as if a truck was being bulldozed by a fog horn. The old man coughed and cough as he tried to wave the smoke away. “Blast darn it. Damn thing.” He nearly wheezed out.

Luhan stood there with an awkward air, watching and not knowing of what to do.

The old man seemed scary with his tall height and a rusty death machine laden in his hands as he walked out of the black and toward the tree. He quickly got to work and got comfortable in a position to cut the tree. It reminded Luhan of a certain African animal with the way his legs spread out to bend over. It was almost humorous that the man had reminded him of a giraffe. As the man lowered the saw into the tree Luhan couldn’t help but cover his ears from the obnoxious loud sound it produced.

Luhan just kind of stood off to the side as he watched the old man sear away at the bark, shavings flying every which way. It wasn’t until the third cut did the man turn the contraption off and turn to Luhan.

“These pieces should be light enough for you to carry on your own. Take them over to the pile over there by the other tree. Ya know teach them a lesson for being old.”

Luhan grimaced. To this the old man said, “Hey, it may be old and dead. But it’s not useless.”

Lu decided not to question that and did just what the man told him. The tree wasn’t so large that the smaller pieces would be difficult to carry, but it was large enough to take down an entire fence. The individual pieces he carried were heavy, but it wasn’t anything terribly strenuous. Instead, it was the addition of creepy crawly’s and other little things that freaked him out. The teen shrieked and flung the piece of wood from his hands.

“What the hell..” The old man placed the saw down on top of the fallen tree and hustled himself over in a silly gait. “What’s the matter, kid?!”

“B-Bugs…” Luhan said with a rather distraught tone.

“Bu—” The man went to repeat the teen but found a breathless chortle coming out. “Bugs?! Are you kidding me?” The old man bent over and picked up the piece of wood. “These are just carpenter ants. Huge ones at that..” The old man placed his hand on the bark and let one of them crawl on him. “These guys are hardly dangerous. They’re not gonna hurt you don’t worry. They’re more afraid of you than you are of them, remember that will ya? If they hurt you it’s because they’re scared, ya know? But these guys won’t.” The old man turned the piece of wood over, inspecting it closely as he let the ant off. “Except this guy.” The old man took the wood piece away from his face. “These guys will hurt you if you bother them.”

Luhan tilted his head to see what the old man was talking about. As the old man turned the piece of wood over to Luhan, the teen caught a glimpse of a red and yellow looking bug. This made the teen grimace and scrunch his nose in an all too familiar sense of disgust.

“Hornets. These guys are nasty. Watch out for them.”

✴✧✴

The sun had risen even higher into the sky by the time the two finished. It wasn’t long hours of labor but enough to prove Luhan was tired and the old man was getting achy. It had not helped any further with the facts that Luhan would scream every three seconds on a grub or some kind of creepy crawly.

“Alright.” The man turned the saw off and held it against his lap. “Well that’s enough of that. Not sure my body can handle that much more. We’ll fix up the fence tomorrow.”

Luhan nodded.

“Can you put this down for me? I do believe I’ll break my back if I place it down.”

“Sure.” The teen eased his way over and snaked his hands through the handle of the saw but as he tried to tighten his grip his hands stung in every which way. Pin-needle like sharp pains struck his hands and it startled him. He let the saw go and watched as the contraption fell to the floor. The old man having let go as he thought Lu had the thing.

“What the..” He looked at the teen quizzically. “Are you alright?” He asked as he inched his way over.

“Um. I don’t know, they hurt.”

“Lemme see.” He took the teen’s hands (rather roughly, mind you) and inspected them. “Well would you look at that. You’re full of splinters!”

Luhan furrowed his brows. What were splinters?

“You’ve got a bunch of pieces of wood stuck in you.” The old man sighed, as if it was such a hassle that Luhan had splinters. “I suppose I owe you lemonade anyways for forcing you to help me out. Come on in, I’ll help you out and provide refreshments.” The man waved his lanky arm and beckoned the teen to follow him around the backyard and through to the back door.

The house was, if not, just as gross to look at as it was outside. Maybe worse. There was clutter in every which way, piles of clothes over here, open books and maps strewn about over there. Papers upon papers, knickknacks of all kinds littered every corner, all in their brightly old fashioned colors. Two kites hung from the ceiling, one of a dragon and the other what looked like a turtled. Brightly colored folded paper on lines of string decorated the already intricate molding of the house. It was eccentric on the inside, busy and not quite as dull as the appearance it gave outside. Albeit, it was still darkly lit.

Luhan scrunched his nose up at just about every little thing he saw in the house. He was bombarded with all kinds of smells of musty old house, to potpourri that went bad over a year ago. It was hard to breathe and not the least bit to his taste. He just wanted to clean, clean and clean it all.

“Take a seat over there, I’ll get ya some lemonade and we’ll start pluckin’ the bad boys, huh?”

Luhan simply nodded and turned every which way looking for the chair as Mr. Park wondered into his kitchen. Noises of pots and pans crashing about grated against Luhan’s ears. The sound of a medicine bottle shaking was also prominent amongst the various sounds. There was a quick sound of a faucet having been turned on, but it wasn’t long until there was groaning and a cabinet slamming shut.

“Fuck.” Luhan had heard the swear word and felt his cheeks flare up. He was definitely not one for swears, and he most definitely knew what fuck meant. Many of the students in his old high school used to throw the English swears around—it made them feel rebellious. Luhan would sit at his desk and listen to all that was going on around him; all while studying furiously for the next subject to start.

It truly made Luhan wonder, however, what could be happening in such a short period of time. As he craned his neck around for a seat the old man had passed by one of the open doorways and sunk into darkness. Luhan could not find a place to sit. He was almost more afraid to sit than anything, considering that the place seemed as if it had not been cleaned in at least a decade. When he decided that standing was the best choice he noticed two cats perched at the top of a bookcase on the other side of the room. It was at least a good fifteen feet high, how on earth did those cats make their way so high up? How did they even manage to get down? These were all important questions, mind you.

“Alright, here we are.” The old man suddenly bustled into the room with a tray of two tall glasses full of murky liquid and a bunch of small utensils. “This is for you.” He held one of the glasses out for Luhan, the ice cubes clunking about as the cup shifted. “And these are for your hands.” He more of mumbled the last part to himself.

Luhan gratuitously took the lemonade and took a small, ever so cautious sip. It was bitter. _Much_ too bitter to be anything considered remotely close to drinkable. It was as if the lemon rind itself had been liquefied. But Luhan drank it anyways—not wanting to be rude to his host. He looked over to the cats for a moment, looking for the only other living object that could understand the awful taste. It was only a brief moment.

“Alright now—well what are you doing standing? Sit, sit! Right here. Mind the mess.” He offered the couch that had been covered completely in clothes and books behind Luhan. The teen’s cheeks burned slightly, feeling as if he had made a fool of himself and sat on the edge of the couch.

“Now, let’s see those hands.” The old man pulled a small stool over; Luhan, having failed to see just where the heck it came from, furrowed his brows. He reached into his breast pocket (which resided under the overalls) and retrieved a small cylinder object. It was a bronze color, chipped and dented all over from years of service. As old bony fingers held onto the object they seemed to move in a way that only knew one way. They were involuntary movements: clicking a button in the middle of the device and snapping it open to show a pair of spectacles dirtied in greasy finger prints.

Luhan put his cup down on the floor and offered his right hand to the old man. Mr. Park had grabbed the hand with his rough and long fingers, cold to the touch.

“Yup, these are nasty little shits..” He paused and looked up at Luhan. “Don’t mind my language.”

“It’s fine.” Luhan awkwardly smiled, he wanted desperately to turn his face because there was a particular odor that the old man carried that was not on his list of desirables. His breath smelt of old coffee and peanut butter covered onions.

The man watched Luhan just for a moment longer—Lu was getting just a bit irked by the fact the man kept doing this. The man smiled widely all of the sudden, baring all of his perfect teeth. Luhan just wanted to leave, this man and his home were giving him a headache.

As the man looked back down he started moving his hand in swift movements. Plucking slivers of the wood in smooth movements. You could tell he had done this many times before.

“What does _beating around the bush_ mean?” Luhan suddenly asked.

“Huh?” The old man looked up with beady eyes behind the glasses. “Oh it’s an idiom. It means to not avoid the matter at hand. Getting straight to the point.”

Luhan grimaced, it was a weird expression to say if you wanted to tell someone that. But the teen questioned it no further. Before he knew it his right hand had been plucked of all five medium sized splinters. His left hand had more of the smaller pieces that seemed almost impossible to see. Luhan watched in awe.

“There. All done. Now try moving those books around, make sure there’s nothing left in your hands.”

Luhan looked to his right and gathered the pile of books by his side and placed them on the ground.

“They feel fine.” He said with a slight smile.

“Good.” The old man leaned over to the tray he had placed on the ground and went to take a sip of his lemonade. “Cheese and crackers!” He spit the substance out of his mouth and all over Luhan’s shirt and lap. “This is awful! Why didn’t you tell me?!” The man exclaimed as he wiped his mouth.

Luhan just sat there with arms raised and eyes wide in shock.

“Oh.. Ohhhhh!” The man vocalized as the realization settled in; he had spit all over the boy. A heavy sigh emitted from his mouth. “I suppose I owe you clean clothes now.” The man hung his head and slumped his shoulders.

_Why is_ he _so upset?_ Luhan thought with a flash of anger going through his heart.

The man got up and left Luhan in the room alone. Luhan was just so shocked that he didn’t have a moment to notice where the man went. As his senses started to actually come to two cats had sauntered their way over. One rubbing their side along Luhan’s shins and the other inspecting the teen from the back of the couch clutter. The third cat had been the gray tabby from the night prior, it walked with all of its weight shifting on the teen’s thighs.

Luhan felt his body freeze upon the sudden attack of felines. He had half a heart to throw them off had it not been for the old man who owned them. Instead, he gently pushed the orange and white cat rubbing his shins. The tabby in his lap had laid down and swished its tail ever so mesmerizingly. There was smug content about the cat that Luhan did not quite like.

“Ah, yes my children.” Suddenly came the deep voice of the old man. He had appeared from the entrance with a handful of clothes.

Luhan jolted with his sudden unannounced arrival.

The old man hobbled his way over to the teen and placed the clothes next to him.

“I’m sorry, your children?”

“Yup.” He sat down on the stool again. “That’s Storm.” He pointed to the gray tabby in Lu’s lap. “Found him when he was a kitten in a storm. He also likes to cause messes equivalent to storms.” The old man snickered. “The one behind is Socks. Mainly because I’m unoriginal and his white paws against his black fur look like socks.” Luhan turned his head to meet face with bright orange eyes against stark black fur. “And this one’s Peaches.” The white and orange cat had jumped upon the old man’s lap. “He’s the baby… Found him in a dumpster crying in a pile of rotten peaches.”

Luhan looked down at the cat in his lap and could have sworn a smirk was reaching across the feline’s face.

“Those clothes should be small enough to fit. Don’t worry they’re clean… Bathroom’s second door on the left.”

✴✧✴

“Thank you, again. I appreciate it.”

“Oh nonsense. You helped me out too. I can wash it for you if you’d like.”

“No that’s alright.” Luhan smiled as he walked back into the room.

The clothes were only just slightly too big for Luhan’s figure, but they were interesting. They were made with a substance that he had never quite felt before. A long black turtle neck that was silky soft and yet also warm to the touch, Luhan was almost sure that he was imagining things. It felt good though, not over bearing and uncomfortable, but instead there was a nostalgic feeling that it held that made him calm. The pants were baggy, almost balloon like in the way they tied off at the ankles and bore a red and yellow design at the bottoms.

“Where did you get these clothes? They’re different.” Lu said with his growing inquiry. The clothes were indeed just a bit odd. He had wondered if the old man had anymore lying around like it.

The man stared at the black shirt, not daring to meet the teen’s gaze. “Ah, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you anyways.” He shrugged the teen off.

“I guess as long as it didn’t used to belong to a dead body, then it was rude of me to ask.”

The old man stared at Luhan, his eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. Before Lu or the cats knew it, the man had burst out into a fit of laughs.

“That’s the most ridiculous thing you have said this entire time.” He had been laughing so hard that he could barely manage the words out.

“Wh-What do you mean?” Luhan’s cheeks turned bright red, another feat of embarrassment for the day.

“What I mean is that you’re so uptight and serious that I didn’t even think it was possible for you to say something like that.”

“But that’s not crazy! I thought it plausible for our given circumstance.”

“Given circumstance? And what might that be?”

“That… That we’re strangers! And the fact you’re an elderly person who lives alone and doesn’t take good care of his place.”

“So what? You’re gonna base all that off of the fact that you just met me and that I have a dirty house? Well you seem to forget that I also trusted you to be in my house. You’re a teenager aren’t you? Aren’t you going to steal my money or something?”

Luhan was taken aback. “What? I would never do such a thing.”

“That’s just it isn’t it? How would I know? You could be a compulsive liar for all I know—”

“But I’m no—”

“—After all, you did try to push my cats off my fence.” The man wore a smug expression.

Luhan could feel his face tighten with frustration. He was excited to point that he thought he might explode if one wrong move was made. So he stood up and gave a curt nod of the head.

“I must be going now. Thank you.”

He hadn’t even spared the old man a glance and made his way through the thicket mess of a house and to the front door.

Luhan spent the next couple of hours cleaning the house. It was good for him because he easily forgot all about the old man. But when he finished cleaning he started his studying and that was a mistake on his end. Luhan was left to his thoughts and suddenly could not stop thinking about the old man and how he left things bitter between the two.

The old coot was right. He was justified for discriminating Luhan like that, after all, he had done the same. But it still did not deter the fact that Luhan was upset with the man and he very much would appreciate not having to see the darn man again. But it would be a loooooong spring into summer until move in day as a first year. It was about five more months until then, he could wait that out, right? He could avoid the old man for that long, right?

Apparently not. So Lu decided that first thing tomorrow he would wash the clothes the man let him borrow and return them.

✴✧✴

_“Be a good boy Han. Mommy will see you soon.” Luhan could feel the distinct tousling of his hair as his mother’s hand. Her hands were large on his small head, yet they burned with each rub. A burn that yearned for more, for a mother who was never there._

_“When will you be back?” The small voice of a younger Lu let out. Despite all these being pictures of the past Luhan the eighteen year old stood just away from the smaller him and his mother; watching the scene with a sad smile upon his lips._

_It was not the first time he had this dream._

_“…Soon.” The woman finally let out and her fingers trailed away from the fluff of hair. Her voice haunting and unforgiving to little Luhan._

_There was no face, just bright red lips that showed the saddest and unkind of smiles. A smile that Luhan knew more than by heart. A smile that spoke the truth in the loudest of ways._

_The woman’s business suited figure retreated, moving further and further toward the metal door. Luhan could feel the apprehension well up inside him, the fear of never seeing his mother again, the loneliness he had long since become accustomed to. The door opened and behind was not the hallway of his old apartment complex but of stars and galaxies. Luhan panicked at this and ran after his mother. She was going to fall if she took another step._

_Luhan ran and ran, but the more he did the further she became and stepped out into the endless abyss. There she floated away, her lips still burned into his brain as she glided into the freezing chill of the universe._

✴✧✴

Luhan woke with a jolt, his forehead covered in a layer of sweat and heart beating against his chest. He always hated that dream. No matter how many times he had it he could never get used to it.

“Han?”

Lu shot his head to the doorway and found his father standing there in his pajamas.

“Dad…”

“I was calling you for a little while, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a dream.” Luhan smiled for the man and let him know that everything was okay.

“Alright, if you have a hard time just come over, okay?”

“Mhm.” Luhan responded and rubbed his eye, waiting for his father to leave down the hall.

The teen rose from his sheets and maneuvered into the bathroom, he was in need of a cool down. Unconsciously he closed the door, not all the way, though. Just enough so that a crack could still be seen. He turned the faucet on and splashed his face full of the cold water. It trickled down his features, each individual droplet gliding into the sink before he had just enough. He dried his face, gave it one last look before saying “don’t think about it” and headed for the door once more. This time, however, as he grabbed the door handle and pulled, he was suddenly before an image of the backyard. Lu stared with eyes larger than any one person could imagine. He had to be dreaming. It was the only logical explanation as to why he was gazing through to his backyard and facing the broken fence the tree had fallen upon. Luhan quickly closed the door, allowing it to click before opening it back up. As he opened it, the gust of fresh grass and moist earth hit his nose, once again, there was his backyard. The only thing different was the gray tabby, Storm. He was lying just a few feet away from Lu in the grass, his face turned up in a way so that it seemed like he was smiling again. The tail of the feline was swaying back and forth, that mesmerizing rhythm it deviously possessed nearly enthralled Luhan. Instead, the teen slammed the door shut on more time and opened it just as quickly. This time Luhan had to see if it was real. He stuck a hand out, trying to reach out and grab the air to make sure it was real. There was nothing, just like air would have been. The only thing that felt different was the change in temperature—the cool air had sent a shiver up his spine. He dipped a toe out into the grass letting the chilling cold dew send another wave of shivers. As soon as that happened Luhan shrunk back and closed the door.

_No. Nope. Nuh-uh. Not possible._ He repeated over and over in his head before opening the door back up. This time there was no backyard, instead it was the hallway and room he had known for the last two nights. Luhan took that as his opportunity and pranced across the wooden floors and into his room. The safety of his sheets provided a security of realism he wanted to make sure he still possessed.

✴✧✴

That morning he was determined. Determined for what? Well even Luhan wasn’t so sure of the answer. He _was_ determined, however, that he would get his morning schedule done. He would wash the borrowed clothes and then spend precisely ten minutes giving them back. Hopefully that could all get done within the time period that the movers truck would arrive.

The sound of the dryer finishing made Luhan perk his head up. He had been sitting at the kitchen table, studying his books furiously until the buzz of the machine went off. That was when the teen shot up from his seat and got to work. A couple minutes later and he found himself standing outside the front door of his neighbor’s elaborate house. He knocked three times, the doorbell did not ring when he tried.

“Just a minute!” He heard a loud voice yell from somewhere deep in the house.

Luhan felt that prick of annoyance as he listened to all kinds of crashes come from within the house. As he went to look away, he noticed the black and white footed cat sitting idly upon the fence that separated their lawns. As Lu was turned to look at the cat that was watching him so intently he couldn’t help but notice the people who were watching him. There was a woman walking her white dog, rather slowly, and a couple that appeared to be doing yard work.

As Lu took note of these people the door opened with great effort.

“Oh, it’s you… I’m surprised to see you back here.” The man for a second looked past Luhan and saw the people as they walked by. “Howdy neighbors!” He grew a smile ten times too big with cheeks rosy as can be.

Each individual picked up their pace and pretended not to notice the man genuinely greeting them. Luhan watched as the people ignored him.

“Ahh, the neighbors tend to not like me. As you’ve already guessed it, I’m not the best of people to be around…”

Luhan chose his silence as answer enough. There was not much he could say without being offensive.

“Come in, I’m sure you’re hungry.”

Luhan shook his head, holding his hand out with the folded clothes he had borrowed.

The man looked at them, his expression difficult to read. “I suppose you would like your clothes back as well?”

“I…”

“You left them after you stormed out.”

“Oh.. Yes… I would like them back…”

“Come in, I’m making cookies.”

Luhan thought nothing of the phrase and followed the man into his house. There was an indefinite soft spot in Luhan’s heart for cookies, regrettably. No matter how horrible and sugar filled they were, he could never find himself resisting the delights they were.

There was something off about the air. It did not possess the right smell. To Luhan it smelled oddly like the way a rotting animal would.

“Wh-What is that smell?” He nearly gagged as he pinched his nose.

“The smell of adventure.” Mr. Park said with a puffed chest and low voice.

“I didn’t think adventure would smell so awful.” Luhan giggled, which he found odd. He never would have imaged himself to giggle at such a repulsive reality.

“Yeah, well, you never expect things to be as they are. Besides, you gotta think outside the box and ask yourself: what would adventure smell like? To me? That’s going to be something that smells like an obstacle, for example, something that smells awful.” The man chortled.

Luhan had followed the old man into the kitchen, wondering just what the hell it was he was saying. For some reason his brain could not fathom the thought. As Luhan thought about the phrase he couldn’t help but notice how the old man whipped his head back after throwing a few things into his mouth. It looked as if he tried to make the action discrete but Luhan couldn’t help but take note of it.

“You looked confused.” Mr. Park announced as he bent over to check on the cookies in the oven. Luhan had stumbled into the open kitchen and nearly wanted to faint at the atrocious sight of the place.

“I just… What do you mean..?” Luhan choked back a gag as the old man put a rather flamboyant, pink apron on. The straps were ruffled as the cloth had been a light pastel pink with white polka dots. The bottom of it also wore a couple layers of ruffles. Luhan was just a bit confused by the use of something so typical of feminine wear for a male.

“I mean, you can’t expect things to be a certain way just by the way it is.”

“But what do you mean by ‘ _it is_ ’?”

“I mean, by looks, by smells, by touch.. Anything.”

Luhan stayed silent as he watched the old man retrieve a tray of the cookies.

“You still look lost.. Alright. So you can’t tell what a person is like just by looking at them. You have to get to get deeper into them. Ever heard of ‘never judge a book by its cover’?”

“Of course I have. But that’s saying don’t base appearance so heavy on opinions. What you said made no sense.”

“Yes it quite did… But at least you’ve heard of the expression and know what it means. The real question is whether or not you use it in your daily routine. Now I don’t want you to get all offended on me or anything and walk on out of here. Just listen to what I have to say. Just because someone is rude and mean doesn’t’ necessarily mean that they’re a complete asshole. Maybe they just had a bad day, or maybe something happened to them in their past that made them like that. Like one of their parents beat them.” Mr. Park easily guided the tray of cookies on to the counter. They looked like round balls of piping hot fecal matter. Luhan was embarrassed to think something so childish but they truly looked like the equivalent of the cat poop he had encountered a few days prior.

Luhan could feel his cheeks get red other than thinking about the cookies. He was beyond embarrassed to say that he had never thought of something so trivial. The old man had a point that made him mad at himself for not taking a moment to actually think about.

“…It’d be nice if everyone was up front about themselves all the time…” Luhan mumbled under his breath.

“What? No, no, where’s the fun in that?! That would be one of the dullest things in the world! Could you even imagine that…” The old man thought to himself, his face so serious and humorous as he thought upon the idea. “I mean, how would that even work? It would be awful if everyone just said the most important things about them. It would take a whole day to talk to someone!” He swung his spatula around, he was feeling particularly heated about the topic all of a sudden.

“Then why not the first three most important things about a person?”

“Hell, my name is Seth Park and I like maps, adventures and I make a mean cookie. That just sounds awful! That doesn’t even get all the complexities of me out!”

“Then you need to figure out the most important things about yourself.” Luhan raised his voice a bit. His head was racing all kinds of weird thoughts.

“But those _are_ the most important thoughts about me!”

“Those can’t be.” Luhan was taken aback, he shook his head in disagreement.

“How can you even say that?” Mr. Park had looked back down to the tray of cookies to place them evenly on the cooling rack. “How can you suggest we say things about ourselves like that and then go ahead and say those aren’t my real qualities?”

“I-I… I—”

“You give it a try.” The old man paused and stared Luhan dead in the eyes.

“My name is Lu Han… And-And I like non-fiction books.. Hard solid facts… And crisp organization.” After he had gotten those words out of great struggling, Luhan felt rather satisfied with his answer. He felt like those really put together what he was all about. “Yes. I like things that are given to me straight. No beating around the bush.”

“Aw come on now. Where’s the fun in that though? What fun is it if you got to know everything about a person in the first glace or greeting? The best part about meeting people is figuring them out. Putting them together piece by piece, detail by detail. What makes them tick, what makes them as they are? That’s when you really learn to love them.” Mr. Park had started placing new scoops of cookie clumps on the baking sheet. “I mean could you imagine a world where if the first thing you said to someone were all the things you like in this world? Nobody would be interesting then. Yeah, sure, it might solve later conflicts, you can decide right then and there if you like them or not. But that’s not how life works. You have to figure those things out on your own. You have to know what you like and don’t like… It sure would certainly make for an interesting world if we just now started doing that, introduce ourselves with the three most important items about ourselves. However, it would be bland if we had been doing it from the start of mankind.”

Luhan had found himself pressed against the wall at some point as he took in the man’s words. His arms cross on his chest and brows so taut on his features that they would surely stay there if he thought any harder. As the old man watched the teen think for himself, he could have sworn he saw a glisten of life stir in his eyes. It was rather adorable.

Luhan couldn’t stop thinking though, what made this man so correct? Was he right, or not? Certainly that couldn’t be the definite answer.

“But… If we had been doing that from the start… Then wouldn’t it just be normal? Like the way we greet everyone now, it’s normal because it has been taught from the start.”

Mr. Park smiled, the lines on his face crinkling up in all his glorious years of laughing and smiling. Teeth all baring pearly white, such a sight hardly seem fake.

“Now you’re starting to get it.” He took a round mound of cookie and held it out for Luhan. “Here, try it.”

Luhan was apprehensive, most definitely unsure if he should take the cookie or not.

“It’s fine, you won’t die.” The old man scoffed.

Luhan took the cookie, sniffed it before deeming it eatable. He placed it into his mouth and took a cautious bite, preparing for the absolute worst. What came was a pleasant surprise of stupor that Luhan could feel welling inside. It was delicious, just down right and utterly delicious. They were sweet with a salty after math, not too much but just enough. The bursts of warm and melted chocolate made him salivate in pure bliss, especially as the center of the cookie had a hot and soft interior. They meshed so wonderfully against his teeth, chewy and perfect in every aspect. He hated to admit it, but this foul smelling and retched looking thing was so delectable.

“Good huh?”

Luhan nodded slowly. Yet as he swallowed his first bite he could feel a distinct memory float around in him. It was a memory of when he was young and he would eat cookies after dinner with his parents. They would watch a movie and eat cookies and milk, laughing or crying together in a way he had long forgotten. When was the last time he had even cried like that? When was even the last time he watched a fiction movie?

Overcome by the sudden emotions the cookie had instilled, tears began to trickle from his eyes.

“Wh-What you cryin’ for?” The old man suddenly asked, he did feel a little uncomfortable seeing the boy cry.

“I-I’m sorry. I uh…” He quickly went to wipe his tears, trying to show no sign of any sadness having gone through him. “I don’t know what suddenly came over me.”

“…It was the cookie wasn’t it?” Mr. Park asked as he watched the teen for a moment.

“What?”

“The cookie reminded you of something forgotten huh?”

“K-Kind of..”

“That’s called nostalgia. Yeah.” He bent over with a huff and placed his new tray of cookies into the oven. “They tend to do that to ya.”

The old man stood back up and smiled.

Luhan wasn’t sure why, but he couldn’t help but smile just as tenderly back at the man.

...

The evening had rolled around, the sunset just upon the land.

Luhan had forgotten all about the movers, all about his studies, and all about the clothes that still needed to be washed. It wasn’t until the slam of a truck that brought Luhan to his senses. He had been outside, helping the old man organize the wood and putting up a new set of 1x4 unstained lumber in the fence.

“Oh no.” Luhan shot up from the fence. “The movers.” He sprinted from the backyard and to the front to see what had happened.

Just as he reached the front yard, he caught the end of the truck retreating down the street. Luhan could feel his heart sink to its pits.

“What’s the matter?” The old man had managed to hobble his tall way over.

“I forgot to be present with the movers.” Luhan sighed and walked into his yard and into the house. He was not expecting to see all the boxes and furniture to be placed in his living room though. It was nice that they ended up placing everything inside, it was just a little upsetting that he wasn’t around to tell them where each item went. He would have to wait for his father to get home to move things around.

“Alright, well, we’re just wasting daylight here. Why don’t we get to work?” The old man had rolled up his plaid sleeves and prepared himself for the labor.

“What?”

“Come on, let’s go start putting things away.”

“N-No! That’s alright.” Luhan reached a hand out to stop the man from entering the house as he pushed past. “I can do it with my father. It would be impolite to have you help.”

“Listen, I may be old, but I ain’t disabled. Not yet at least. So just let me help ya okay? I did take your time up after all.” The man ripped himself away and headed into the house, scoping out what need to be done.

Luhan sighed, his shoulders slumping with a tad of apprehension. He stepped into the house and let the man have his way; it was most likely best to let the man do as he pleased. The man was hardheaded so he would do what he wanted anyways.

As Luhan surveyed the mess of boxes he noticed the gray tabby sitting upon a box in the highest spot of the living room watching them.

“What the… How did you get there?”

“Ah don’t mind him. They just appear wherever, _whenever_.” The man said idly. “Alright, start directing me.”

And Luhan had done just that. The two worked well into the night, much of the supplies had been moved to their respective rooms. By the time Luhan’s father had come home it was already late, about ten when the two had finally realized how much time had gone by. A voice rang through the house and alerted them to this.

“Hannie?”

“Dad?” Luhan called back from the kitchen where he had been arranging pots and pans while Mr. Park was setting up appliances.

Luhan shot up from his spot and ran through the house to greet his father. The two had been amidst an interesting conversation about the liveliness of an empty room. It was conversation that had taken a great portion of their time while they worked. Luhan found an empty room to be nothing but what it was, empty. Mr. Park refuted that it was everything that made it perfect. From the particles of dust to the stains on the walls to the crawling little bugs to the creaking floor boards. It was a perspective Luhan found ridiculous and could never find joy in such imperfections.

However, as Luhan ran to his father he greeted the man who had been holding a couple bags of McDonald’s.

“Welcome home.” The teen greeted.

“You didn’t have the movers put things away in their rooms?”

“No… I kind of wasn’t here when they arrived.”

“What do you mean—”

“Hello.” Mr. Park cleared his throat and made himself announced.

“Who’s this?” Luhan’s father quickly switched to English.

“This is Mr. Park. He lives next door. I was returning his clothes when I got distracted and forgot to be here for the movers.” Luhan’s voice slowly diminished as he realized his wrong doing.

“Returning his clothes?” Luhan’s father became stern. There was something harsh in his weathered features that displayed defense.

“Yeah. Um yesterday..”

“You didn’t tell your father…?” Mr. Park questioned.

“Well, I kind of forgot.. And you came home late last night, I thought you would want some quiet time. And then you left early this morning so I didn’t get a chance to tell you…”

“Tell me what?” His father snapped suddenly. Luhan had never seen his father like this before. It made him a little uncomfortable.

“The tree in my backyard was dying, so it fell over and hit the fence and broke it.” Mr. Park suddenly interjected.

“What?”

“Yes, and I was helping him clean it up and then I got splinters on my hands,” he held his hands out for his father. “And then he spit on me and I needed new clothes—”

“He spit on you?!”

“By accident—”

“I’m sorry what’s your name again?”

“Park, Seth Park. Now, I’d like to apologize for my—”

“I’m sorry Mr. Park but I think it’s time for you to leave.”

Mr. Park went to speak but his mouth closed quickly as he stared at the two. He felt as if his stay was more than over welcome.

Mr. Park bowed his head curtly and went on his way through the front door. Luhan felt bad for some odd reason. He understood all too perfectly why his father was mad, but a part of his heart felt wrong for the way Mr. Park was leaving.

Luhan watched as two cats followed in suit. He was shocked that his father hadn’t acknowledged them, like he didn’t even mind. But there was still a missing cat, the tabby. Storm was around somewhere. Luhan looked for him quickly and caught his tail as he jumped from a box that Luhan was sure he was not just a second ago. The cat trotted gingerly, just in time to not get stuck in between the door as Lu’s father closed it.

“You let a stranger in the house?”

“He kind of let himself in.. But he’s not really a stranger.”

His father turned around. “He is to me, I’d feel better knowing that you weren’t inviting people I did not know into the house. Also, what the hell is this about the fence? You got splinters and he spit on you? What is that?” His father walked past him and to the kitchen, placing the food on the table and making his way to the sliding doors leading to the back.

“It was just an accident father—”

His dad paused and stood frozen as he looked at the significantly shorter and discolored fence. It was obvious to tell, even in the dark lighting.

“You should have seen it yesterday. If we didn’t clean it up we would have had to call the insurance—”

“We don’t have insurance, Han. You know that. We barely have Visa’s yet. And you think we can afford anything right now? If you guys didn’t patch that up, then what? We would be scrounging to get by. That’s one more thing to add to my list… What if you got seriously hurt? I don’t know if that guy is some sort of creep.”

“It’s really okay dad, I mean he just doesn’t really get along with the neighbors so he comes off as.. Harsh.. But never judge a book its cover—!”

“What the hell are you saying?” He turned around and went back into the house. “Han, I’m tired. I just want to eat and go to bed. Can you please, just for now, wait until I have a day off so I can properly meet our neighbors?” His father sighed in exasperation.

Luhan felt uncomfortable, his father next to never swore. Yet he had been dropping a few tonight.

“Yes, father.” The teen hung his head.

Luhan’s father felt a pang of guilt as he watched his son hang his head. “I’m off this weekend. I’ll be around to help you, okay? We’ll move the bed stuff then. Okay?”

“Okay.” Luhan nodded again.

“Alright… You can start eating without me, I’m going to go change first.”

Luhan nodded again and made his way to the table to start eating. After dinner, Luhan’s father had stayed up for just a little longer to look over documents at the kitchen table until his eyes could no longer stay open. He went to bed not long after Luhan had suggested he put the work down and slept for the night. Lu on the other hand, kept unpacking. He really did not mind so much doing it on his own. If anything he loved it because that meant he got to organize everything. It wasn’t until he came upon a particular box that he noticed a folded piece of paper on it. It had been the box that Storm had jumped down from just a little while ago. He took the paper and unfolded it cautiously.

On it had been scribbled a sketch of a landscape. It was messy and smudged, as if someone had done it in charcoal and was not careful of their hand. There were trees and a few birds scribbled. It looked serene, even if it was just a small and quick doodle. Like it was a place so beautiful yet melancholic. Something was off by the a few scribbles the cracked in the middle of the paper. To the normal eye it looked as if someone messed up and tried scribbling it out but the mass of lines looked almost purposeful.

Luhan folded the paper back up quickly when he heard his father shift around upstairs and shoved it into his pocket. He would have to ask Mr. Park about it tomorrow.

✴✧✴

“You wouldn’t happen to have experience anything out of the ordinary since you’ve lived here, have you?” Luhan scrunched his pert little nose. “Actually…” He thought. “How long have you lived here?”

“Too long.” The old man said curtly as he searched through cases of old and dusted items.

The two had been situated in the old man’s living room, a bit of spring cleaning was in order.

“But that’s not a definite answer…” Luhan mumbled.

“It’s answer enough. You’re too nosy.” Mr. Park grumbled.

“…Is something bothering you?”

“No nothing at all.” There was a definite sarcasm to his voice that signaled the opposite of what his words were.

“What is it?”

“I offered cookies this morning to your father, and he threw them out!”

“He what?!” Luhan gasped at the sudden information. How could his father do such an atrocious thing? “He would never be so blatantly rude like that! Why did he do that?”

“Well… He didn’t do it to my face… I put a plate on his car and hoped he would get my apology.”

“Did you say anything?”

“No… But I tried to! I was poking my head around the bushes and I watched him throw the cookies out!”

“Well, did you leave a note saying they were from you?”

“No…”

“You should have left a note.” Luhan shook his head.

Mr. Park scoffed, “What makes you so smart? Here, make yourself useful. Put these somewhere where you’ll remember them.” He had thrown Luhan’s previous clothes at him. “You left them here, again.”

“Oh.. Sorry about that.”

“Nothing to be sorry about.” He had gone back to digging through the old boxes. “Keep the small clothes too. I have no use them, they won’t fit me.”

“No I couldn’t—”

“I insist.”

Luhan waited around a little awkwardly for the man to say something. He was also still waiting for him to answer his last question. But when the question never came he cleared his throat. “So, did you ever experience anything weird?”

“Define weird.”

“An adjective: something suggested to be supernatural; unearthly.”

Mr. Park scoffed once again. “No, what’s your definition of weird. Because you being yourself could be weird to me. Elaborate please.”

Luhan feigned a gasp, “I’m not unearthly!”

“You’d be surprised.”

“I mean, other worldly weird.. Like have you ever experienced a moment where you’re in two places at once?”

“Oh yes, I quite often do.” Mr. Park laughed at himself, as if he had an inside joke with himself.

“Well… What’s it like?”

“Well… It’s otherworldly, that’s for damn sure.” Mr. Park finally pulled out a large black chest. He patted his hands on his thighs as he looked over the old dusted item.

“So if I said my house is magical, you would believe me right?”

Mr. Park snorted and looked over his shoulder back to Luhan. “It’s not your house, kid.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s you.”

Luhan pulled back, those words had been strange to his ears. How could it be him? He wasn’t magical at all.

“That’s impossible.”

“Nothing’s impossible.” Mr. Park turned back around and began unlocking the chest through a slew of combinations that Luhan could barely keep up with. “Just gotta use your imagination.”

After opening the big chest, there was another smaller one inside. This one was red, a deep cranberry at best. Mr. Park pulled it out and began to unlock that one as well.

“Wh-What are you doing?” Luhan dared to ask as he knelt next to the old man.

“It’s a surprise.” The old coot smiled, he was being mischievous.

Luhan grimaced with a slight roll of his eyes, but as he did so, he caught the three cats looking down upon them from up top the bookshelf they were under.  Luhan was starting to become used to the cats and their random appearances.

After unlocking the red chest there had been a bright green shoe box inside it. Mr. Park gently removed it from the box and set it in his lap as he laid back into a crisscross fashion. Luhan watched with wide eyes as to what was so heavily guarded in the shoe box.

Luhan chose to stay silent, knowing he would not get a direct answer if he asked now. But as the old man removed the top, he was disappointed to find a dried up blade of grass.

“…That’s it? A piece of grass?”

“Not just any piece of grass! It’s a four leaf clover! Those are hard to come by!” Mr. Park feigned.

“But why is it so heavily guarded?”

“Because it’s special, that’s why.”

“No it’s not. It’s just a piece of weed. You can get them anywhere.”

“Nope. Not this one. This one is special because I say it is. There may be hundreds like it but this _my_ lucky four leaf clover and I love it just the same. There are no other clovers like it.”

“But why did you have to love that one?”

“I don’t know… I closed my eyes, pick this one out and there it was. I looked for it with my heart.”

Luhan raised a brow.

“ _’It is only with the heart that one can see rightly’_.” The old man recited.

“What?”

“Ah..” The man cleared his throat. “A-A friend had taught me that. Whenever he was feeling homesick, he would close his eyes and search for the warmth in his heart that reminded him of home.”

Luhan sat back and watched as Mr. Park admired the odd item. This old man truly did baffle him to a great extent.

“…Do you know where this picture came from?” Luhan held the folded piece of paper out.

Mr. Park silently looked at the thing, then grabbed it and opened it up. Luhan watched for a reaction; to see what he would do, to see if there was any kind of recognition. But the elder had a strong poker face, at least strong enough for Luhan to not be able to read.

“I do know this drawing. But how did you get it?”

“It was on one of my boxes, I wasn’t sure if it was yours or not.” Luhan kept his watch on the old man. “…So is it yours?”

“Yes and no.”

Luhan’s body clenched with the annoyance and rolled his eyes.

“It’s mine in the sense that I keep it and it was drawn for me. However, I did not make it.”

“Who made it then?”

Mr. Park was silent again. Luhan knew that there was an answer he wanted to give, but it just wasn’t coming out.

“Come here.” Mr. Park suddenly said with a solemn look to his face.

He got up from the spot after placing the clover back in its box and covered the black chest in a heap of mess in the bookshelf. It was quite awful how he hadn’t cared for organization. But as he maneuvered to a new side of the room he began rummaging for another box. The box had been much smaller than the last, the size of a butter cookie tin. As he opened it up, Luhan watched with intent. There was a slew of parchment paper all full of scribbles and notes that made Luhan want to erase them just so that they seemed a little neat. Instead, he waited as the old man poured the sketches on the table.

“Wh… What are all these?” Luhan asked as he let a hand run through the papers. They all seemed to be yellowed with age, it made him feel like he was not supposed to touch them.

“They were my translations.”

Luhan looked up at the old man and furrowed his brows.

How could such abstract looking pictures be translations? One of them looked like the mouth of a demonic worm and it’s hundreds of teeth were about to eat a small figure that stood lone on a rock.

“How can these be translations?” Luhan had picked up a particular picture, one of a lone figure in the color of the tan paper while the rest of it was dark—filled in with the dark charcoal.

“They are translations because they helped me understand the world he…” The old man trailed off. Luhan quickly looked over to the man, wanting to see what expression he bore. His eyes were glassed over lost in a thought so distant that Lu was sure he could never grab hold of it.

“Who’s world?” Luhan inched just a bit closer.

The man was silent, not wishing to tell the story.

However, Storm, Peaches and Socks had all garnered themselves around the two of them. Their eyes all slit with a purpose that only Mr. Park could seem to read.

“Alright… Let me tell you the story of a boy. Who changed my life forever...” Mr. Park turned around in his spot and leaned up against the bookcase. “…Well, don’t just sit there get comfy!” He said with a bit of an outburst, it frightened Lu just a tad.

The teen did as he was told and found a spot next to the old man, his knees up and arms holding them close. The old man took a moment and watched Lu as he did this. A smile grew upon his old features.

“You’re eyes are so big right now.” The old man blurted.

Luhan tilted his head in question.

“Like a new born, full to the brim with curiosity. It’s a different look for you. I like it.”

Luhan simply smiled once the words sunk in to his brain. It sure sounded like a compliment, so it probably was.

“Now, you’re going to have to bear with me, my memory isn’t quite what it used to be. So these pictures sure are going to help… Let’s start with this one.” He pointed to the one in Luhan’s hands. “He was a young prince. The prince of Erixo to be exact—”

“Where is Erixo? I’ve never heard of it.”

“To be exact, _what_ is Erixo?” Mr. Park’s voice flared with a hint of playfulness. “It’s an asteroid. Asteroid 288—”

“An asteroid? What? That’s impossible, there are no scientific studies showing life forms thriving anywhere outside of our solar system. How can that be?”

“Well it’s possible. Because that’s where the Prince lives. He and his people… The asteroid is large enough to sustain life as it orbits around the sun Betelgeuse.”

“O-Oh… Well… I never really learned a lot about Betelgeuse..” Luhan admitted with a small voice. Peaches had found his way silently into Lu’s lap, purring as he did so.

“It is very hot and desert like on their asteroid, however, there are some spots that sustain oasis’s and provide food and water for the people.” The old man pulled out a drawing, it was a rough sketch of a small looking oasis, a single palm tree looking over a small pond of the sort. Around it were a few tents and a single well. Just looking at the picture made Lu parched. “The Prince’s father was the ruler of the land, however, he was very sick at the time the prince met me.. It is the absolute and most trusted duty of the king to take care of the asteroid and groom the waters. Those with royal blood only possess this power. They, and only they, have the ability to rake the waters and allow life to thrive for their people and animals. However, before the Prince could be taught this power his father had fallen ill. A poison had entered his blood stream and rendered him in a deep sleep. Now, the Prince had _some_ ability to take care of his people; however, being the only one of royal blood he needed to find a way to help his people and fast. So he set off on a journey, a journey to find the cure to his father’s illness and to keep his land alive. He did this by jumping through wormholes and landing on planets and asteroids of similar nature.” Mr. Park picked up a picture that at first glance looked like a series of scribbled lines. “This was his father. The King of Erixo.”

Upon this new information Luhan’s brain clicked and was able to put together what the picture was. “…I don’t understand… What this has to do with anything?”

“Well.. The Prince went on his journey. Looking for the answer to his problems. And in that journey he came crashing through my roof.”

“…So let me get this right… This prince.. He made all these drawings?”

“He quite did. He is the best drawer on his home. He also could not speak English. So he drew these to tell me his story. I taught him English during his time here. He learned very quickly. Fluent in three days.”

“This is ridiculous. I feel like you’re telling me a story.” Luhan grimaced and scrunched his nose, his heart waned heavy toward disbelief but part of him wanted so badly to believe the story.

“It is most certainly a true story! Nonfiction if you had to ask me. I can make a biography with all the things I have of his. Promise!”

“Promise?”

“Yup! And when I make a promise, _I keep it_.” The old man had sworn with a seriousness that made the small teen freeze. “Remember those weird clothes I let you borrow?”

“…Yes.”

“Those were his.”

“No they weren’t…”

“I told you, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you… They were strangely warm weren’t they?”

Lu nodded his head.

“That’s because they’re built for space travel. It is quite cold out there so it changes according to body and temperature of space or world.”

“…Then… Then why did he come to you specifically? It doesn’t make sense for him to choose you so suddenly.”

“He didn’t choose me. It was an accident really. He hadn’t meant to find me, but rather, he wanted to see what Earth was like and landed through my roof.”

Luhan looked away, his face so red with thought and frustration. The drawings all matched—the clothes were indeed warm, there was a patch of roofing on his ceiling that hadn’t matched the colors of the other singles. The signs were all there but it was ridiculous. This man was not telling a true story, it was a fib and an extensive one at that. This frustration caused Lu to ruffle his hair and stand.

“You know… I think… I’m going to go for now. I just remembered I had some unpacking and studying I needed to do.” And with that, Luhan receded from the house and ran into his own. There he was sure he would be safe from the insanity that the old man so addictingly brought.

✴✧✴

The next day, Luhan was dressed in his everyday clothes. He had gotten ready when his father woke up and went through the normal routine, albeit, the two were silent. Once Luhan’s father had left for the day he tried to finish the unpacking that needed to get done. It was rather dull this time around, so much to the point that he did not want to continue unpacking the living room. His mind, instead, was full of thoughts of the prince. He went to bed thinking so hard about whether the boy was real or not that he hadn’t even noticed he fell asleep. His dreams were lost as he slumbered but now that he was awake his mind was busy. It was quite vexing that he could not stop thinking about the Prince. He, despite not wanting to admit to it, wanted to know more about the story of the boy.

Luhan shoved the box he had been working on to the side, sighing in exasperation as he did so. He needed a break. Even if he did have one just ten minutes ago.

_What’s wrong with me?_ He thought to himself. He had never felt so unmotivated to work before. So instead he got up and decided to raid the kitchen for a small snack. Something not saturated in fats and grease, but quick and healthy. Upon the kitchen table he spotted the green apples his father had brought home the night prior. One of the elder’s colleagues owned an apple tree and was giving them away at the office.

Luhan smiled and washed one of the apples before taking a bite. Sour and tart, yet crisp and delicious with the sweetness of a green apple. He then moved to the fridge, looking for something that he could get a drink from. He leaned over the fridge door, as the top was the freezer and bottom the fridge. He looked idly as there was not much to choose from—just a few water bottles and a carton of tea. He then leaned toward his hand to take a bite of the apple but was surprised when he bit into nothing. The apple was not in his hand.

He checked the other hand.

Still no apple.

“What..” He mutter involuntarily as he looked around for the apple. He turned back toward the kitchen table and there in the bowl of apples had been the one he grabbed. He knew it was his because there was a small red patch on the apple where the others were not covered in any. Luhan went over to the table and retrieved the apple, trying to see if his mouth was filled with the taste of the apple. But he could not tell! He began doubting if whether or not he had even grabbed the apple... Yet he remembered so distinctly puckering up at the sour taste.

He took another bite. It was the same as before. It was all an experience that had definitely happened before. He looked at the apple for moment, then to the fridge. He walked over and opened the door but as soon as he looked back at his hand he noticed the apple was gone again.

“WHAT.” Luhan suddenly blurted as he looked at the table and saw how the apple was placed in the same spot as before.

He marched for the apple and held it firmly in his hand, not taking his eye off it as he marched back to the fridge to open it. But this time, as he opened the fridge and kept his eyes on the object, it stayed in his hand.

“What?!?” He said in that exasperated tone again. He took a furious bite from the apple and waited for something to happen. He closed and opened the fridge again, still the apple remained. “What the hell..” He said much to his dismay and put the apple on the edge of the table. He turned for the sink and looked outside, pulling his hair every which way as he did so.

When he turned back around, the apple was no longer on the table and back in its bowl. Luhan just stared, expressionless.

The boy suddenly ran, his long thin legs taking him through the house like the speed of light and all the way to his neighbor’s yard. He jumped onto the man’s front porch, banging furiously on the door for him to answer.

“What, what?!” Mr. Park answered the door after a stalled moment, it was not a pleasant greeting.

“Tell me about the prince. I want to know more!” Luhan blurted suddenly so out of breath.

Mr. Park stared at the teen, confused by the outburst and why he was so out of breath.

“Come in, and take a breather. Goodness. I’ll make you some tea and cookies.”

Luhan froze for a moment at the mention of cookies and smiled like a fool. He nodded and followed the man into the house.

“So what did you want to know about the prince?”

“Everything. All the way from what he looks like to when he left.” Luhan said still out of breath as he followed Mr. Park into the kitchen.

There on the counter had been Storm and Peaches, tails swaying their normal tick but watching ever so fervently.

“Well…” Mr. Park dug into his refrigerator and took out a bottle of apple juice. “He was a young boy at the time. Most likely your age when I met him. He was tall, and very slim. Like that of a fox. Handsome too! The most handsome of all men on his home. All the ladies and boys alike swooned at his grace. His hair was made of pure gold, each strand flowing with the essence of beauty. Like tiny lights sparkling in each translucent strand. It was quite remarkable. His blood was also purple. Well, at least it was purple when he bled here, it bled green on his home.”

“No way..” Luhan muttered.

“Yes way. It’s very true. He was quite remarkable too. He could summon wormholes on command. It was a trait that only the royal bloodline possessed. But sometimes… Traveling never went quite as planned.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean by the fact that wormholes are very unpredictable. Like they have a mind of their own. Only _very_ trained people have good control of wormholes, but even then it can go wrong. Sometimes the Prince would accidentally time travel; then he would end up in all kinds of places when he really shouldn’t have been.” Mr. Park had handed Luhan a glass of apple juice. “Why the sudden interest? You didn’t seem too keen about it yesterday.”

“Ah… Well.. I don’t know…” Luhan tried to cover himself up, he wasn’t sure if he should bring up the weird occurrences to Mr. Park yet. He wanted to find out a little more first.

“Well, come look at this.”

Mr. Park had brought along a container full of the cookies he made the other day and lead Luhan around the kitchen and through to another door way. All the same, Luhan watched as the old man took down a few pills while they walked. They had then entered a study, it was full to the brim with odd trinkets and hanging lights. Bookcases still lined the place, clothes and books strewn about like the main living room. It was a mess just like the rest of the house. Luhan followed carefully, making sure to not to break anything as he maneuvered around.

“Watch this.” Mr. Park had stopped next to a tall structure that was being covered by a white sheet. He removed it quickly and revealed a contraption that looked oddly similar to a Ferris wheel. He snuck a finger into a small opening and flipped a lever. Immediately the contraption started to spin, creating a chain effect of items to fall and roll and spin. It was like watching magic happen before his very eyes, the teen was enthralled. A small marbled rolled around the room; the trinkets that had lung to the wall all came to life when the marble passed by. Each useless object had a reason to keep the machine moving. One event led to another, a chain reaction that made Luhan’s heart race with anticipation.

But as the marble rose higher, lights had turned on one by one—fairy lights in gold and purple colors of the like. With each light turning, the window curtains had shut with a snap. Immediately darkening the room yet brightening it with the lights that turned on.

Before Luhan could process everything at once, the room had been lit up in way so that it was like a celestial scape. The very breath had been drawn from his lungs as he gazed upon the ceiling. It felt like he had been floating in space, close enough to reach his fingertips out and graze against the very stars.

Suddenly, as Luhan was about to reach his curious arms out, did three cats come barreling into the room. In that moment, Mr. Park had done something that was unseen by the teen. He had pressed a button and the room was suddenly electrified with dimension. Luhan was too busy watching the cats as they scurried to see the room sparkle with the specs of stars. When he looked up his nose had hit a small light, it shattered into even smaller specs. This had frightened Luhan, making him stumble back and watch the light form back into itself.

“Wh-What is this?” He spun around quickly, watching as the room danced with the lights and constellations.

“This is an acrascope.”

“A what?” Luhan spun to face the old man, his heart fluttering with wonder. As he spun, his hands made sure to run through the various stars, watching them disburse and reform. He felt so giddy in the room; small and just a bit childish.

“An acrascope. It projects the universe into a readable map.” He had held up an object small and gold and in the shape of a cylindrical tube.

“No…” Luhan breathed out. “It’s just your glasses case.”

“Look closer.” The old man smiled with ease as he held out the item for the teen.

Luhan walked over slowly, anticipating the moment to look at the item up close. It looked like the same dented golden item from before. Still weathered with life. Yet a new perspective was opened once the teen could lift in his own petite hands. Along the side had been a slew of buttons, one in the shape of a circle, one in the shape of a triangle and another in the shape of a trapezoid. He clicked the trapezoid and watched as the projection that spilled out of the object shifted and honed in on a more concentrated section of the map.

“Watch of this.” The old man walked over to a rather large and red looking star. He poked his boney finger in the center of the star and the map zoomed in even closer. “That button allows you to manipulate the map. The world is so vast that it’s near impossible to project it all in one go.” He pressed the center of another round object and watched as the map singled it out. “This is Erixo. The Prince’s home planet. Just south of Orion’s belt.”

Luhan’s face had been so focused on the magnificent sight that the old man could hardly take his eyes off the teen. The boy’s eye’s sparkled brightly with the twinkle of lights.

“It’s so misshapen…”

“Yup. Just like Earth. It may not look like it but the Earth is all bumpy and distorted, just like the dusty tops of this asteroid.”

Luhan looked down at the object in his hands again. “How do you even put your glasses in here?”

“The acrascope it relatively hollow. That way I can keep the device on me at all times because I know I need my glasses often. However, there is a very small compartment—” The old man had made his way over to the teen and retrieved the cylindrical item. “—That possesses a small card.” He pressed a button that had been off the side of object and Luhan watched in awe as the projections disappeared into the trinket. “This card.” The old man held up a small luminous chip, barely the size of thumbnail that had been transparent and glowing in a light blue color. “Holds the map of the universe. It is constantly growing along with the universe. The acrascope is an item that simply projects anything put into this compartment.”

“There’s no way something so small can hold the entire universe… While growing!”

“There is! I promise you.” The old man smiled knowingly. This had put to rest to the agitation in the teen’s heart. “You must remember to look at things from a new perspective if you want answers. Not everything is as it seems.” The old man tapped his long nose. “Think.”

Luhan hung his head for a moment as the old man placed the chip back inside the golden item and clicked the top of the trinket.

“…Did the Prince give that to you?”

“Mhm. This was a gift from him. He thought our world could use it for space travel. But—” Mr. Park stopped himself from continuing.

“But what?” Luhan asked as he approached the man.

“But I didn’t exactly agree with what he thought. I thought the world was not ready for such technology. And because of our views, he left on bad terms… To this day I regret the way I acted.”

“What happened?”

“Well, as we were fighting… The beast that had been chasing him had found him. It appeared and he fought back with all his might. But it was like lightening. One moment he was there… And the next.. Gone.”

“He died?!” Luhan exclaimed.

“I don’t know… _I_ think he is.. The answer should be yes.. But I want to believe he’s still out there. Riding on the currents of time trying to find the cure for his father and the ability to save his people.”

Luhan silently hung his head. “Then.. What beast came?”

“It was a morphia.”

“A… morphi-what?”

“A morphia. Morphia’s are these giant creatures that roam the universe, and destroy anything in their path. They’re like termites, eating everything they get their hands on. But this particular morphia, the King of all Morphia, was after the Prince’s home. The King of Erixo had always done such a wonderful job protecting them so the King of Morphia was furious and poisoned the Prince’s father. But the Prince left a spell on his home, protecting it from the King of Morphia. And as the Prince left on a journey to find his answer, the King of Morphia chased him. It was here on Earth that the king had found him. I don’t know if he was successful in defeating him…”

“…That’s awful…”

“It is… So I’ve spent the rest of my life looking for the Prince.” Mr. Park pressed a button and the projections were gone again. He flipped another switch and all the curtains opened and lights turned off. Luhan’s heart sunk with the diminishing of the room. “I spend every night in my tower watching the stars. Hoping that one day the Prince will appear and keep his promise.”

“What promise?”

“To take me with him.”

“To where?”

“To his home. To be amongst the stars where he lives.”

A silence grew amongst the two, Luhan really was not sure of what to say in that moment.

“…Would you mind if I stayed and watched the stars with you tonight?”

Mr. Park stared at Lu for a moment, he was confused of the question. But a smile spread upon his cheeks when he found his answer. “Be my guest.”

That evening, the two had climbed to the top of the tower, opening the roof much like an observatory and setting up a rather industrial sized telescope. It faced right toward the sky despite the heavy layer of clouds that hid the sunset.

“Isn’t it a little cloudy to want to see the stars?”

“Nope. It’s perfect the way it is. You see wormholes appear wherever they please. I just like to look at the stars for signs of movement. To see if something is actually happening out there… To see if the Prince is still out there…” He trailed off.

“You keep calling him the Prince… But… What was his real name?”

“His real name?”

Luhan nodded.

“Prince Oh Sehun.”

✴✧✴

A summer was not enough to keep Luhan so enthralled. He couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed so hard, or what it was even like to have fun. It was mid-June and the odd pair had become thick as thieves. Luhan spent every day at the old man’s house; forgetting about his studies and abandoning house work. He was too busy going on adventures around Mr. Park’s house. Each day they had done a new task and had been told a new story about the prince. The golden haired prince in which Luhan had found himself so captivated with.

Mr. Park had told him so much about the prince. Every little detail pertaining to the sword he carried all the way to how many languages he could speak. It apparently took the Prince fifty Earth years to cross the universe in search of his answer. In his journey he had met all kinds of people. On one planet he met a tall and handsome boy named Kaidou. He was dressed in his Sunday best, which was very similar to that of a Japanese kimono. He was an eccentric boy, both strict yet encouraging and often spoke in riddles. Mr. Park explained him as “tough love”. The Prince also met another king, he was King of Universe. He had owned his own planet; it was large and full of people who loved him.  He was regal and refined, rich and beautiful. He was ideal to be the king of the universe. King Jay was his name. There was also mention of a particularly tall man named Sirk. He was constantly changing what he wore and how he looked. But the most peculiar thing about him was the fact that he lived alone. His asteroid was so small that it could only support him. Now, those were only just a few people that the prince had come across and the ones that stuck out in Luhan’s young mind. Each of these people the Prince had asked for a cure to help his home, but none of which had a direct answer for him. Kaidou had given him the answer of: “The answer you seek will come, in due time.” The King of the Universe had said: “I could have the cure of what you seek, however, you will have to give me something of yours. Like this home you so tenderly care.” The Prince could not accept his terms and moved on. Sirk had told him one too many answers that he could hardly keep up with. The Prince only wished he would choose one.

He had met at least a dozen people in his travels, each all unique. Especially a trio of friendly prophets. They were curious beings in that they were not related yet somehow understood everything the other had to say. They could finish each other sentences, as if scripted or said a hundred times over. Gond, To and Xim were their names. These were the three who helped the Prince the most—they led him to Earth, where his answer was so patiently waiting for him. They led the way and made sure he arrived safely but that was all they offered. It was luck that he would need if he were to ever find the answer. The three beings had left him on Earth alone, to crash into Mr. Park’s house and fend for himself in such foreign lands. It was after then that the Prince had disappeared after allegedly promising Mr. Park that he would take him to his home one day.

Luhan could not stop thinking about it. His mind rolled over and over on the Prince.

Part of him told him to not believe in such childish stories, but there were so many unanswered questions that seemed out of place. The acrascrope was the most amazing thing, the same with the clothes that the Prince had left behind. They were amazing items that he was almost sure did not exist anywhere else besides Mr. Park’s home. There were no articles, no other pieces of information available about these items. The drawings were filled with items so out of this world that it seemed only reasonable that someone from the place could really create it.

Lu felt like he needed more. Like he wasn’t satisfied with the information he was given. But no matter how much his technical brain thought, he could not fight it when sleep finally overtook. He was then whisked away into a spiral of repeated dreams. It was the same one he had experienced before. The dream of watching himself as a young child watching his mother leave through the front door for the last time. The suffocating feelings of missing his mother the moment she turns around. The cold that swarms him when he can only see the red lips she bore and nothing else. Nose and eyes blurred with the decay of memory. But matter how much he tried, his voice was never enough to stop her. Instead, his body fell through the floor. His body flung into the celestial world instead of his mothers. It was torture, never knowing when he would stop falling. When something would wake him from the wretched nightmare.

All at once, he was engulfed in thick, warm water. This caused Luhan to wake up in shock. He had been submerged in a tub full of water. The tub in his home to be exact.

“What the…” He mumbled as he laid in the tub, looking around to see just how he had gotten there.

“Dad?” He called out. “Dad?” He called out just a little louder.

“What?” His father responded with a groggy voice from down the hall, the door had been ajar.

“D-.. Did you leave water in the tub again?”

“…Oh.. Did I? Sorry. Drain it for me.” The man went silent, which probably meant he had gone back to bed.

Luhan rose from the tub, soaked to the bone, his pajamas no longer wearable.

“Did I just…” _Sleepwalk?_ He finished in his head. There was no way his father put him there, and no way anyone else could have done so. He wasn’t a heavy sleeper so he would have noticed if someone tried lifting him.

The teen trudged to the closet for a towel and began removing his clothes. He was annoyed that his perfectly clean pajamas were now ruined, but he was even more annoyed by the fact that he had no idea how he had gotten there. He wrapped himself in the towel and opened the door to enter his room for clothes. However, as soon as he opened the door, there before him was an ocean. Luhan stared. His mouth slightly agape at the sight before him. The moon was shining high over the water, the waves brushing against the shore ever so gently. For one of the first times in a while Luhan’s mind was silent. He could not even fathom the fact he had opened his bathroom door to the ocean, let alone whilst naked in a towel.

To this, the teen stepped a foot out into the sand. Beneath his feat was the cool sink of grains against his soft feet. A slight addition of moisture pressed against the pads of his feet as he trotted against the sand. A light breeze tousled his hair, brushing against his bare skin and making him shiver with delightful little goose bumps. He took in a deep breath; the ocean salt reminded him of a time of when he was younger. One of the only times he had ever visited the ocean with his family. He felt calm—at peace with the wind and ocean engulfing his senses.

“Hey! You!” A voice shouted at Luhan.

Luhan turned and squinted when the bright light of a searchlight had shone upon his face. It was a cop still in his car scoping out the area with his beam. Lu took that as his chance to get out of there. He _was_ naked after all. The teen was sure he had never run so fast before, escaping in the nick-of-time.

The door shut tight, his back pressed against it and his heart thumping against his rib cage. It felt like his heart would jump out and lay itself on the ground if it could. He turned around and pressed his ear against the door, listening for any sign of someone coming near the door. When the coast seemed clear he opened the door slowly. Of course, he was brought to face his hallway. Luhan poked his head out and looked side to side, there was definitely no ocean. And he was definitely not dreaming.

…

The following night, after having spent the day once more with Mr. Park he had come home to a rather upset parent. His father had been seated at the kitchen table waiting with papers in front of him and his hands crossed at his mouth. Luhan trudged through the small hall and to the kitchen.

“It’s late.” His father announced.

Luhan flinched at the tone.

“Ten forty three to be exact.”

Luhan had never been home so late, but this particular night he was caught up trying to catch fireflies in Mr. Park’s backyard.

“You know, when I was your age I was doing all kinds of rebellious things against my parents. I would say coming this late would be normal. But you’re not a rebellious child, Han… You were with Mr. Park weren’t you?”

“Dad, before you get upset let me explain—”

Luhan’s father had simply pushed the pile of papers on the table toward him.

“What’s this?” He asked as he picked one up. It was a newspaper article that had been cut out and laminated.

His father was silent, waiting for his son to read the title.

“’Man miscalculates, kills three astronauts’.” Luhan furrows his brows. “Where did you get this?”

“My co-workers. Everyone in the town knows about it.”

Luhan began to read the article:

_32 year old NASA employee, Seth Park had made the mistake of a century. One of the youngest members of the NASA team had showed great quality at the age of 28. His love for numbers and space went well together. He was a graduate of Brown University with a bachelors in Geophysics and a Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate with an engineer’s degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics. His dream job was to one day be an astronaut, even if being a part of the scientific team was the closest he could get. He had applied to the astronaut program but rejected, as he had failed the psychological portion of the test. Distraught by the outcome, he had been placed in a state of mind not suitable for work. Since the day he had been working on the preparations of flight operation Orion B36, his calculations had been off. The design of the engine was not built properly, it was not ready for takeoff when it had done so. This had caused the ship to implode in the engine, killing the three astronauts ready for takeoff. Investigations regarding the case had suggested that out of spite, Park called the okay. Park denied all allegations saying it was not on purpose, but an accident. However, as further investigations looked into his records, it proved that his psychological portion of the astronaut testing was off. He had shown signs of unbalanced readings which could lead to future schizophr—_

Luhan couldn’t even finish reading. He could hear the shattering of his heart fall into pieces. There had been other articles on the table, those of which were printed from the internet. Each of them with similar headlines, all stating how a man had caused the death of three astronauts. Lu had clenched the newspaper article and ran out the kitchen, out the front door and toward the old man’s house. He waited for the man to answer but he had no idea of what he would do when he finally confronted him.

The door unlocked and opened like normal.

“Lu… I thought you were going to bed?” He asked innocently.

“What is this?” Luhan suddenly blurted out. He felt tense. A ball of emotion welling up in his throat.

“What is—” He caught his words as soon as he noticed the headline.

“Is it true?” Lu pressed. He could feel the weight of tears begin to form.

It helped no better when the old man chose silence. His face solemn.

“Answer me!”

The outburst shocked Mr. Park for a moment.

“It was all a lie, wasn’t it? There is no prince.”

“Lu—”

“How could I be so stupid? Of course there’s no prince.”

“Lu, I never lied to you I promise—”

Luhan stepped back, trying to make his way down the porch.

“Schizophrenia, it said schizophrenia.”

“No Lu, you have to understand—”

“A long-term mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation.” The teen recited.

“Han?” Luhan’s father had called from the other side of the hedge.

The teen turned his head toward the voice of his father.

“I.. I have to go..” He tried to convince himself. “I… I can’t come over here anymore. I have school soon and I need to study. I don’t want to be distracted by you anymore.” Luhan stepped off the porch and made his way back toward his house. Where the comfort of his room made him feel safe. He sat in his room, back against the door and face buried into his knees.

He felt so useless. The world he had spent an entire summer learning about was a lie. A complete and utter lie.

There was no prince.

He sat there and cried. Crying feelings he had kept balled inside for more than just a summers worth. Tears that had dried up over a decade ago. They were all letting loose, falling almost uncontrollably.

“Hannie?” Lu’s father called out from behind the door in a soft voice.

Luhan refused to respond. He sat in his spot and tried to hide his hyperventilating, hiccupping as he did so.

“Hannie… I just..” His father sighed. Eventually he gave up and walked away. He knew there wasn’t much he could do.

Luhan fell over, sobbing there once he heard his father walk away. Oh how he wanted to crawl under a rock and stay there. To make up for that he stayed on the floor for almost two hours before falling asleep.

The next morning he woke up sore and swollen. He missed his alarm and woke up with the sound of his father getting breakfast ready. At this Luhan got up and sluggishly moved to the bathroom to wash his face.

“I’m heading out in a bit, I left breakfast on the table for you.” Luhan’s father had appeared in the door, it startled the teen just a bit.

“Okay. Thank you.” He continued to rinse his face.

His father lingered for a moment later, wanting to say something to his son. He knew he had to but he just wasn’t sure of what. He ended up leaving the door ajar and headed down the stairs.

As soon as his father was gone Luhan sighed. He let his hands rest on the sides of the sink and stared at the running water. He felt awful, like a void had dug itself in the midst of his chest. It was a dreadful overbearing feelings. He wished it would go away because he hated the way it confused the majority of his energy.

He stood up and stared at the droplets of water on his face. The cool air of the bathroom brushed against his skin, leaving it chilled against the swollenness of his features. He reached for a hand towel, patting his skin dry.

“I’m heading out in a bit, I left breakfast on the table for you.” Luhan’s father had poked his head into the bathroom again.

Luhan turned to his father, a brow quirked at the sudden appearance.

“Y-Yeah.. You said that already.”

“…No I didn’t. This is my first time seeing you all morning.”

“But you just..” Lu trailed off as he watched his father raised a brow as well.

“Deja vu, huh?”

“Deja what?”

“Deja vu. It’s an expression! When you feel like you experienced something already while it’s happening.”

“Oh…”

“Alright… I’ll see you later.”

“Okay.”

His father lingered for a second, still fighting with if he should say anything more to his son. Lu felt uncomfortable with this situation once more. It had happened once already, why was it happening again?

When his father finally left, he left the door slightly ajar. Luhan ran for the door before it could close anymore and he whipped it open. There on the other side was his hallway and room. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

For the rest of the day Luhan stayed cooped up in his room, door closed and window open. He studied and studied, not thinking about the prince nor the old man next door. He stayed like that for two weeks—focusing purely on housework and getting his summer assignments done. Which he had done with ease. His mind was laid to rest, nothing out of the ordinary. No accidental bathroom portals, no repeating dad’s and no cats. He felt like he had done a good job of getting back into the habit of his normal life. The life he knew best. Familiar and safe. Even if his heart missed running his hand through the tiny lights of the acrascope. Even if he missed running around the Victorian house playing hide and seek with the cats. Even if he _did_ miss the stories of a golden haired boy that had the power to jump through wormholes.

But he ignored it, he ignored the adventurous feeling running through his cold heart. A heart two sizes too small since being broken.

As the day grew darker, Lu had only left his room once to use the bathroom. He decided it was a good time to go downstairs and cook dinner. So he left his laptop neatly on his desk and notebooks piled on top of each other on his bed. What he hadn’t realized as he left was how close he had left it to the edge of his bed as he left for the bathroom. The notebooks fell and disappeared in a rippled illusion of the floor. The notebooks landed on top of his desk, papers flying about and creating a disarray of things. Luhan returned to a few papers still floating down and stood in his doorway shocked by the sudden flare. He was sure he had placed the notebooks on his bed, neatly at that.

He walked slowly over to his desk, wondering if one of the cats had appeared and decided to destroy his desk area. When there was nothing he cleaned up the mess and placed it on his desk this time. However, as he did so, he had knocked off the pencil holder by accident. Luhan expected it to crash and create an even bigger mess than it had done before. But a crash never came, instead there was a sound similar to something dunking into water.

Luhan watched as it happened, the floor had entirely consumed the pencil holder. His jaw fell upon the sight. He stood there, hunched over his desk and stared at the floor for a moment longer. There was no way the ground had just eaten his pencils, correct?

He looked back up on his desk, there was no red pencil holder.

He looked back at the ground and gingerly stepped a foot out, pressing to see if it would sink in as well. His foot, however, did not sink in. It touched solid ground. He quickly looked around his desk for another object to drop, there was a lone silver pen next to his silver laptop that he quickly picked up and dropped. He watched as it disappeared in the ground once again.

This time Luhan laughed with the new discovery. He touched his foot out once more, but again, it touched solid ground. He reached a hand out hoping to see if he could feel anything. But as he did so his hand had sucked right into the rippled illusion. As soon as he felt his hand sink in he ripped it back, it felt cold and wet like when dipping a hand into water for the first time in a while. But there was nothing wet about his hand. He carefully slid his hand back toward the ground again, hoping something would happen. However, he was surprised when nothing did. He took his hand back and let it rush down into the ground; the ground sucked him in. He pulled out quickly once more, still not fully understanding what was going on.

He stood to his feet and walked around the space between his bed and his desk, wondering how big the invisible object was. He shoved his hand down and watched as it disappeared just as the foot of his bed. The teen harrumphed and stood at the edge of the object. He had half a heart to stick his head in and see where it led. He knelt down trying to get ready; but what if he didn’t get enough momentum and smacked his head into the ground? He stood back up and had half a heart to just jump into it. That would be safe right? But what if it still wasn’t enough? He climbed on to the top of his bed and looked down at the area in front of him. He was ready to take the dive, to let his feet fall first but he chickened out the last second.

“This is ridiculous. I can’t do this.” He shook his head and climbed off the bed and left his room. It was just about time he made dinner anyways.

“Chicken sounds good tonight.” He mumbled to himself as he walked down the stairs. As soon as he reached the bottom step he paused. He stared at the front door, a hand gripping the baluster as he thought about what he should do.

Within a split second the teen had turned around and raced back up the stairs. He gave it no second thought and jumped onto his bed and into the ground.

All at once he had been whisked away into a world heavy like water, yet dryer than any kind of land. It was both light and dark, a darkness so bright that he could barely keep his eyes open. It was happening all so fast that he barely caught glimpses of other circular openings. Each of them glassed over with views of everyday life. There was a particular one that had caught his attention as he fell through the space, one with a flash of red. But just as soon as he could see them, the sooner he had fell right through. The cold air of the inertia made his hair fly every which way, his belly cold with the bareness that slipped past.

Luhan fell through the space and tumbled onto solid ground. As he summersaulted down, something grazed his back and caused him to groan in pain when he found himself upright on his behind. He took a moment for his brain to stop spinning. He tried to make an understanding of his surroundings but the initial shock was just a little too much on his brain.

As the dizziness left, he found himself looking at a rather familiar fence.

He turned around with great strain, it was his house. The patio grazed in a soft pink as the sunset painted it. A red object had caught his attention as he turned around—it was his pencil holder, his pens and highlighters of the sort were strewn about in the grass. He must have grazed over it as he fell.

“What the…” He turned back around and looked upon the tall fence. The sun had set beyond the horizon, however, the sky was still lit with the beauty of pastels.

Luhan tried to stand on his feet, they felt like jello for some reason. He gathered all his pens and pencils and made his way into the house. It was quite the feat but he managed to make his way back up the stairs and to his room.

Before putting the pencil holder on his desk, he held it above the invisible portal and dropped it. Lu was disappointed when the pencil holder bounced and crashed. He knelt down and shoved his hand into the ground only to flinch back when his hand crashed into it as well.

The portal was gone.

✴✧✴

Luhan still had so many questions. He had doubted his thoughts against Mr. Park and often wondered if it was at all possible for the story to be true. The clothes, the acrascope, and the bathroom. They were all things that he had experienced. He was sure there was no way an acrascope existed outside of Mr. Park’s house. There were no records that he knew about the clothes that warmed its host based upon body temperature. There was no way technology like that existed in his world yet.

It was a few days after Luhan had magically transported into his backyard that he decided he needed to talk to Mr. Park about everything. He needed to talk to him and see if it was at all possible his home was magical. And possibly apologize for his rude behavior.

It was a particularly cloudy day, the weather had suggested thunderstorms in the late July evening. The teen rapped on the old man’s front door, his heart beating with anticipation of their meeting. He felt ashamed for showing his face so late, like he almost didn’t have the right to do so.

However, the old man never answered the door. Lu waited a good five minutes after ringing the doorbell and knocking loudly. He knew the old man had a hard time hearing but he almost always answered the door.

“Mr. Park?” Lu called out. He knew the man didn’t have a job and often stayed in his house. He looked into the glass of the front door after opening the screen door—looking for any sign of life. There were no cats about the lawn, no lights turned on inside.

As Luhan looked into the house, rain began to trickle from the sky.

“Mr. Park?” Luhan placed a hand on the door knob of the front door and turned it. The crazy old fool almost never locked his door. Luhan had let himself into the home. “Mr. Park are you home?”

The teen walked throughout the messy house. It felt like it had been forever since he last set foot in the place. It was almost like a second home at that point. But something wasn’t quite right. Where was Mr. Park? Surely he had to be around. As Lu walked into the kitchen he saw two socked feet poking out from around the counter. Luhan could feel his heart sink upon the sight of the feet resting up.

“Mr. Park?” Luhan called out, hoping he would answer him before he ran over.

When there was no answer, Luhan raced around the corner. Mr. Park had been laid on the ground, eyes closed and chest just barely showing any sign of breathing.

“Mr. Park!” Luhan let out breathlessly as he knelt beside the old man. “What happened?!” The man looked pale, almost gray, his face had been thick with a peppered stubble. He wanted to lift the man’s head into his lap but he was so afraid to touch him that he anxiously got up and looked for the telephone.

 

 

An ambulance had arrived within a reasonable time; the paramedics took the frail man away.

Lu was reduced to tears as the paramedics took the man’s vitals.

It had happened so fast. Luhan barely had a moment to catch the man’s gaze as he opened his eyes for the first time in all that time.

Luhan had muttered “you have to be okay, you have to go with the Prince” as the ambulance drove away. It was haunting as the neighbors gathered around the ambulance in the pouring rain.

Luhan stood on the sidewalk long after the people had disbursed.

“This isn’t right…” He mumbled to himself. His fists balled at his sides. Just behind him were three cats. Their whiskers drooped and ears held back. As Luhan turned around he was met with the sight of the three rather sad looking felines. “This isn’t right.” He repeated for the trio. “This isn’t fair.” The teen bit his lip. “…He’s real, isn’t he?”

Peaches and Socks laid on the ground, their ears still held back. Storm’s ears had perked up despite his body being rather low to the ground.

“The prince is real. You know him, don’t you?” Luhan inched closer to the felines. Socks and Peaches had wrapped their tails around themselves, refusing to look at Luhan. Storm had stood up, his tail ticking with agitation.

As Luhan stared the felines down, a car had begun to pull into his driveway.

“Hannie? What are you doing in the rain? Get inside, you’ll get sick.” His father said as he ran for the house.

“He was taken to the hospital.” Luhan muttered as he stared down at the ground.

“What?” His father called from the porch.

“Mr. Park fell a couple days ago and he’s been in his house alone and dying on the ground. The ambulance just took him away and I want to see him.”

Luhan’s father stared at his son, his face expressing a guilt he felt awful about. The teen’s father walked down the porch and to the car, starting it up and waiting for him to get in. Luhan gathered himself into the car, still wet from standing in the rain for so long. He told his father the hospital and the two drove off. Lu watched the three cats as they drove by they had been keeping a keen eye on him. Storm trotted after the car for just a bit, as if he was confused why the teen would be leaving.

Within fifteen long minutes the two had arrived at the hospital. With two hours waiting in the waiting room a doctor had finally come out and gave the father and son a rundown of Mr. Park’s stability. There was a slim chance he would survive the night. He had been left alone for two days after hitting his head on the counter, concussed and too weak to heal on his own. The doctor told them to prepare for the worst. To top off the onset of news, the two were not allowed to visit the man; he was in no condition for it.

Luhan could only mutter three words before slipping away and running out of the hospital.

His father called out after him but Luhan just ran. He ran and ran through the halls and down the stairs to the busy outside world. Cars and traffic of people had paraded the hospital, everyone in their own state of urgency.

Luhan’s father had finally caught up, standing just a ways behind his son as he caught his breath. He had no idea of what to do. His son was going through so much pain and he had no idea of how to make it better.

The car ride was silent. Lu sat in the back, his head pressed against the cold window. Lu’s father glanced every so often at the teen through the mirror; just to see how he was doing.

“Just think…” His father cleared his throat. “You’ll be starting school in a couple weeks. You won’t have to worry so much about anything then. School will keep you busy.”

Lu gave no response and stared out the window.

When the two had arrived at the house it was dark. The sun had set long ago and the clouds covered any last hint of light. Lu ran into the house and refused to talk any more than he had to.

Dinner had been forgotten. Neither male was hungry enough after the evening’s events.

Luhan had locked himself in his room; crying his heart out once more. It was awful. The feeling of uselessness overtaking him once again. He just wanted everything to be okay. So he laid in his bed for a good long while, thinking to himself about what he could do—what he should have done.

“It’s still not fair…” He mumbled as he sat up. The sudden surge of needing to do something blaring through his veins.

Luhan had no idea how much time he spent lying in bed until he looked down the hall and noticed his father’s door closed. It must have been late if his father was asleep. The teen then tiptoed to the bathroom and noticed how muggy it was. His father must have recently just finished taking a bath as there was still water in the tub.

Luhan stood in front of the mirror, taking a good long look at himself—repeatedly asking himself of what he should do. It was in that moment that a light went off in his head. He looked at the door that he had left just ajar. He was determined to figure this out. He closed the door and hoped that opening it would take him to a new a place, but nothing came. It was the normal hallway he spent all summer opening the door to. He closed and opened the door again, yet there was nothing.

He decided he would try a different approach. He left the door wide open and walked as far from it as possible. His long slim legs ran for the door and jumped just before stepping through the doorway—hoping that he would land in another place. But he was disappointed when he found himself bumped and bruised from a hard wooden floor.

He tried again; this time biting his lip from the immediate frustration and focusing on the door before running. The jump did nothing once again. He was able to keep his balance this time, but he was still in the hallway. So he tried one last time before his father became suspicious. This time, he thought about the prince. He thought about what his golden hair was like. How tall he actually stood. And how wondrous his eyes truly spoke. As he ran this time he felt odd; like his feet were not actually touching the ground. Yet somehow they got him to the door. He ran and jumped again, tumbling through the door and somehow managing to not land. He closed his eyes as he was sucked into the quick suffocating feeling of water without being submerged in the physical substance. Before he knew it he was staring at a white wall and falling fast into the ground. It was all so sudden that the submergence of lukewarm water caught him completely off guard. He had miraculously managed to get himself in his tub once more.

Luhan stayed silent; he listened for his father to wake up or for something to happen. He waited but nothing ever came. Rather, he found himself soaked in the tub water. However, this time he was coherent and knew exactly what it was that happened. Well, not exactly, but at least he knew enough that he was jumping from place to place. The teen removed himself from the tub and found himself trying to ring out the water from his clothes. He grabbed a towel from the closet and wrapped it around himself to keep the air from making him cold. But he stopped when he caught the bright sight of something in the mirror. His hair had been half wet by the impact but there was something completely off about it. It was completely and utterly platinum blonde! Luhan shrieked upon the sight and stumbled back a bit; nearly tripping back into the tub. When he gained his balance he got closer to the mirror and admired the change in color. A stark contrast from his once pitch black hair.

In the time that he played with the locks of hair on his head he heard a sound thunder from across the hall. He froze, listening as it sounded like an entire wall was being ripped from the other side the bathroom door. When the sound subsided he paused.

“Dad?” Luhan called out as he inched closer to the door.

The teen cautiously opened it, only to see the wooden hall of his home and the open door of his room. However, his room was filing out dust and smoke.

“What the…” He mumbled as he tiptoed across the floor boards.

A gaping hole had emerged in his ceiling, the moonlight seeping in to the rubble behind his bed. Luhan stared with devastation; his bed had been covered in dust and wood chips, wall insulation and sheet rock. But what confounded him the most was the movement of a person lifting themselves out of the rubble.

As the dust cleared, Luhan could make out the back of the figure rising. It wore pitch black, its broad shoulders sleek in the moonlight. A glisten shined over the shirt as the figure straightened itself.

Luhan stood in his doorway, mouth agape and hands held tightly at the towel covering his soaked body.

The figure stood silently for a moment—trying to make sense of where it was. It turned over its shoulder and bestowed a beautiful profile to the teen standing on the other side. Luhan whimpered upon the magnificent sight of a long slim nose and skin so clear that the moonlight could hardly compete.

“Wh-Who are you?” Luhan tried to say.

The figure simply turned around and stepped through the crashed rubble of the roof. A sword had been holstered on his hip. Luhan swallowed hard upon the information his brain was receiving.

_Could this be Prince Sehun?_ Luhan thought fervently.

There was only one odd thing. Prince Sehun had hair made of gold. This boy’s hair was made of rainbows.

 


	2. submergence

“Might you give me the time?” The young man asked, his voice deep and alluring all the same.

“Th-The what?” Luhan stuttered as he tried to comprehend the situation.

“The time, good sir.” His voice was clear, English pristine and unfaltering. Luhan had felt rather surprised at such polite manners.

“I-It is.. Um…” He looked around, trying to find his phone. “It’s eleven thirty two..”

“I apologize for not specifying, what year is it?”

“Uh.. Two thousand seventeen. July, twenty-eighth.”

The figure had stepped from around the bed, taking in the room as he did so.

“Wh-Who are you?”

The figure paused just before Luhan and stared at him. He closed his eyes and took a deep bow, placing his hand over his chest and raising with the utmost regal of motions. “I am Prince Oh Sehun. I came once from my home of Erixo in search of a cure, now I have returned to retrieve this cure.”

Luhan could barely find the words he needed to say; the prince was before him in all his ever glowing glory. He was beyond magnificent, more so than the teen could ever imagine. An element of ethereal like the stars above had made the boy feel small.

“Good sir, you are soaking wet..” The prince’s eyes widened when he noticed this.

“Ah, y-yeah. Um, gaha—” Luhan laughed awkwardly and caught his words in his mouth.

“Are you alright, sir?”

“Y-Yeah—yes. I’m okay.” Luhan nodded furiously, his heart beating against his chest was a distraction. There was such an extreme sensation of elation that he wanted to shriek out in glee. He wanted to run to the hospital and show Mr. Park that he had found the Prince.

“Good. I require your assistance. Come with me after you have changed.” The prince strutted out of the room and into the hallway. He looked up and down the hall then took a left toward the stairs. It almost seemed as if he knew what he was doing.

Luhan watched as the prince left and stared for a fleeting moment, still trying to convince himself that what he saw was real. The sound of a crash from downstairs made Luhan jolt, he began removing his clothes and threw on a new set of clean ones. They were comfortable and warm, an odd sensation he recalled from the last time he wore them. It was funny, he could have sworn he left the clothes at Mr. Park’s house from the last time he had seen them.

The teen then raced down the stairs, skipping a few by accident and tripping down the last three.

“Ah..” He groaned as he sat on the bottom step. He needed a moment to let the pain pass before getting back up.

“Is everything alright? I heard a crash.” The Prince had run over from the kitchen.

“I could say the same..” Luhan bemoaned as he stood up.

“Ah, yes, I knocked over this fine fixture here.” He pointed to the lamp that had once been standing tall behind the couch.

Luhan sighed. He would have to clean that up later. It was in that moment that Luhan realized he had forgotten all about his father. He raced to the front window and looked to see if there was a car home. There had been no car in the driveway, Luhan furrowed his brows at this.

“Dad?” He called out loudly, hoping to gain a response.

As he waited he received the answer of silence. Luhan ran up the stairs and tripped up the last step as he did so. He cursed under his breath and quickly walked his way down the hall to his father’s room.

“Dad?” He knocked gently on the door before opening it slowly.

The room was empty; his father was nowhere in sight. The bed was made perfect, not a spec out of place. However, the only odd thing was his missing father. It made no sense—his father was always home after ten-thirty. In fact, it was unheard of for his father to be home any later.

Luhan left the door open when the sound of glass shattering had alarmed him. He raced down the stairs, this time careful and not slipping as he did so. As soon as he entered the kitchen he found the sink window shattered and a small being yelling at the prince.

“—you must leave this place!” The being was at least the size of a six year old child, its skin a light translucent purple. It was quite the odd humanoid.

“Xim, how have you come here?” The Prince asked as he rushed to the being.

“Prince Sehun!” Another being suddenly yelled.

Luhan whipped his head around and found Peaches stumbling in to the house without so much as coming in through the door or window. Before Luhan could say anything the feline had transformed into another small humanoid, this time blue and translucent.

“To!”

Another window crashed from the side of the kitchen as a flash of green streaks followed. The item hit against the wall and slid down.

“Prince Sehun, you are in danger..” The third had groaned out.

Luhan watched as the creature of a feline transformed into another small humanoid, this time green.

“Gond! What happened to the three of you?”

“That has nothing to do with the current situation now. You are in grave danger. The King of Morphia still seeks you. If you survived the first time, I doubt you will a second time.”

“I escaped his evil clutches once, I think I can do it again. He should not know I am here right now. I gave him the slip a couple wormholes back.”

“But he will find you. He can smell you lightyears away. There’s not much time for you.” The purple translucent one, Xim said hurriedly. He was holding an arm as if he had been hurt.

To had helped Gond up to his feet. They were adorable beings, like children with faces of cats.

“I must find the cure first. I know it is here. I cannot leave until I have it.”

“What cure?” Luhan suddenly spoke out.

His voice had startled the three humanoid being.

“You, how did you get here?” Gond, the green one, suddenly shot out from To’s arms.

“I-I.. I live here.”

“No you don’t! You weren’t supposed to be here you were supposed to wait for the Prince—”

The room had suddenly become thick with malice. A darkness had spilled into the room and turned the lights off.

“Oh no.” Gond shut himself up. “He’s here.”

There was a sudden shutter of hisses from outside the window. Another hiss had gone by the other cracked window.

“Morphians. There must be at least ten.” Prince Sehun rested a hand on the hilt of his sword. “They shouldn’t have found me so fast!”

“It’s because of him!” Gond exclaimed as he pointed a stubby finger at Luhan.

At that moment a crash from above startled everyone. They had entered the house through the hole in the roof.

“Get down.” The Prince suddenly said as a centipede like creature raced down the stairs. It was pitch black, legs long and sharp as it tried to fit in the small areas of the house. Beady red eyes had scared Luhan so much to the point that he froze. The creature was awful, laden in black armor and teeth huge like pinchers.

The Prince stood in front of the teen and held his sword out. Within a flash he had lifted his sword and the creature had been sliced on the neck. It screeched a deafening sound that made Luhan cover his ears. It was like nails had grated against a chalkboard while stepping on thumbtacks. It was an awful noise as the Prince had swiped his sword one more time and beheaded the creature. Green gelatin like blood had oozed out and stained the walls, Luhan mentally cried out in pain at the sight.

However, before the coast was clear, two more creatures had burst through the glass doors and cracked sink window.

“Go! We’ll take care of them!” Xim pushed Luhan and the Prince away as a ball of purple light shot out at the centipedes.

“I trust you have it.” The Prince nodded and grabbed hold of Luhan’s waist. “I will come back for the three of you.” Before Luhan could comprehend what was happening, his body was whisked away into an invisible portal.

✴✧✴

The landing was as rough as usual. The casual tumbling into solid ground was never pleasant, however, what was different was the addition of a supple being below him. The teen coughed, trying to regain his breath as he had always a hard time of doing when coming out of a loop. He pushed himself up—his hands digging into cold sand—his face had been buried in a pleasant smelling surface. Before him had been the Prince, his face so close and so peaceful looking. There was a problem though, his eyes were closed and mouth slightly parted.

“Prince Sehun?” Luhan asked suddenly. When there was no response he tapped the male’s face. “Prince Sehun?!” He raised his voice trying to make the boy respond.

The teen rose to his knees, careful to not hurt the prince in any way. He looked around as he removed himself from a top the boy and was shocked to find another young male across the way. He looked horrified as he sat on the ground, as if he had just witnessed someone being murdered. Luhan couldn’t help but notice a full head of curly hair as it glistened orange in the moonlight. The stranger had been wearing a leather jacket, a white t-shirt and tight fitting jeans. It seemed a bit too stuffy to be wearing the jacket that particular humid night.

As the teen kept looking around he noticed that he had been situated on a beach, the same beach as he had found himself opening his bathroom door to.

“How did…” The man’s deep voice sounded, it startled Luhan as he sat on his knees next to the motionless body. “How did you do that…” His voice had a heavy accent, one that Luhan couldn’t quite pinpoint.

“Where are we?” Luhan asked instead.

“Uh.. The beach..”

“No, is this still Earth?”

“Wha..? Of course this is Earth!” The male gasped suddenly. “You aren’t an alien are you?!”

“Of course not!” Luhan spat as he crawled around the body and pressed his head against the Prince’s chest. “He’s still alive… Good.”

As Luhan tried to wake up the unconscious boy, the other male had walked over and knelt beside the two.

“Is he alright?”

“I don’t know..”

“What… What happened?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Luhan muttered as he tried sitting the prince up. “I can’t leave him here. Can you help him on to my back?”

The stranger wasted not a second and helped the teen get the Prince on his back.

“What are you in a rush for?”

“Bad guys. They want him dead.” Luhan said blatantly, he could see the color drain from the tall male’s face.

“C-Can I help with anything…?”

“Yeah, get us somewhere hidden. Somewhere where we can be safe for a while.”

The stranger thought for a minute. “…I got it. Follow me.”

The male beckoned him to follow, leading the way through the sand and into the street. Instead of following the concrete somewhere the stranger had led him across the street and into the thicket of forest next to the park. Not a soul was in sight, this was good for the two of them to get away easily. The two walked in silence in the dark night.

“How can you see? Don’t you have a flashlight on your phone?”

“No? Why, do you?” The stranger questioned.

“I do… But I don’t have my phone with me.”

“Well that’s pretty cool. Where are you from?”

“I’m from China.”

“Must be fancy over there in China, huh?”

“I-I guess..” Luhan remarked, this stranger was odd. And tall too, he was very tall, much like Mr. Park had reminded him.

Before long and trudging through the humid forest, the two had come across a clearing. Luhan could make out the outline of a small cabin in the little bits of moonlight that shined through the trees.

“Are we allowed to be here?”

“Not exactly. But it’s fine. No one comes around here.” The male had walked to the side of the cabin. “Wait here, I’ll let you in.” He climbed on top of a couple metal sounding items and lifted the window open. Luhan waited as the male climbed in and maneuvered around. A light flickered on in one of the windows not long before the door opened. “Come in.” He beckoned, this time reaching out to take the unconscious prince from Luhan’s shoulders.

The prince had been laid on the floor, a few jackets piled up as a pillow for his head. The small cabin looked mostly out of use, like it was used for beach storage. Extra lifeguard supplies littered the walls and ground; lost toys and towels had been scattered about it. It seemed as if it was an old beach storage house.

“So how did you guys appear out of thin air like that?” The male asked as he was seated across the way on an old and rather dented cooler. Luhan sat beside the prince, stroking his lusciously soft rainbow hair out of his forehead.

Luhan chuckled. “I told you, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try me.”

“Fine. We jumped into a wormhole. A wormhole that he conjured up and made us appear in front of you.” The pointed to the Prince on the ground.

“Why…?”

“Because we were running away from these hideous creatures called Morphians. The King of Morphia had sent his minions to attack us.”

“But why..?”

“Because the King of Morphia wants him dead.” Luhan suggested the Prince once more.

“…But why?”

“Because he’s the prince of his home planet, and casted a spell that prevents the King from eating his home.”

“…….But why?”

“Is that all you can ask?!” Luhan snapped.

“I-I’m just curious!” The male feigned back and held up his hands.

“He comes from a place far away. His father was the king of that place and purified their water through magic. The Prince was to be passed these powers down, but his father fell ill from the Morphia King. So he came to Earth in search of a cure for his father … But he was pursued by the Morphia King… He was able to escape the King once, but now the King is back. I just hope he wakes up again before the minions come after us again.”

“Why, what are they?”

“I… I don’t even know.. They’re pitch black, like giant centipedes and wasps. Their eyes blazed red with anger, kind of like I just want to pet them and tell them it’ll be alright.. Like they have a thorn in their side they just need to remove…”

The stranger whistled. “Sounds like you need a shit ton of luck to get out of that one.”

Within that moment the Prince’s eyes shot open. “Luck. That is it. We just need a little luck.” His hand had involuntarily gripped Luhan’s wrist, stopping the teen from stroking his hair. Luhan’s cheeks flared from being caught.

“I don’t know sir, it seems to me like you need a lot.”

“Prince Sehun, are you feeling alright?” Luhan rushed as he tried to pull his hand back. The Prince for some reason did not let go.

“I am well.” The male sat up and looked about the room. “Where are we?”

“A cabin outside of the beach.”

“Beach? We ended up at the beach? Is it not the beach near your home?”

“I-I’m not sure… It might be.”

The prince held onto the teen’s hand, sliding it down so that he held onto it comfortably. “Perfect.”

“What do you mean?”

The Prince stood up quickly, taking Luhan with him. “If we want to defeat the King of Morphia, we are going to need a lot of space. And something that will put him rightly out of his element.” The Prince spoke with a flare in his eyes, as if he was ready to finally take on the king.

“But that’s—”

Before Luhan could finished, the Prince’s head shot to the side. He had heard something and wanted to listen out for it. “Already?! How did they find us so quickly?” He whispered.

The stranger stood up and removed himself as far as possible from the window.

“The Morphians.” The prince declared as he tightened his hold in Luhan’s hand. “They ambush all at once, I am not sure I can transport us to a new place. It is very difficult to transport more than one person at a time. You will have to bear with me.” The Prince looked over his shoulder and smiled weakly at Luhan.

The blonde furrowed his brows, he thought the Prince was a powerful being, able to do as he pleased with wormholes. “Y-You don’t have to protect me. I can help!”

Before another word was said the window had been pierced with the crash of a pointed stinger. Like a giant scorpion had punctured it. The deep voiced stranger let out a shriek on a scale similar to a little girl. He ran behind the Prince and cowered. The door had then been battered against. The second window was next to go, this time the glass had flown across and scratched Luhan across the cheek. A streak of crimson grew faint on the pale surface. The roof shook, a few Morphians had gathered on top and started to bang. Prince Sehun held ready with his sword; waiting and standing in front of two very frightened humans.

All at once, the door, roof and windows had come crashing about. However, the closer the beasts came the slower they resolved. Sehun had halted with an arm raised at the creatures, the stranger had covered his ears and shut his eyes from onslaught. Luhan for some reason was the only one moving at normal speed. The hand that had been gripped onto Prince Sehun’s had been removed and held faced toward the ground. There at the ground was a pool of light, it was forming slowly with the sudden halt of time. But as Luhan started to understand what was happening everything began to move like clockwork again. All at once speed had taken its normal place as the three were consumed in the growing light.

Luhan had whisked them away into a wormhole of a different kind. One that was not so directly linked to another. The three were floating in the heavy water-like atmosphere, stunned by the sudden turnout of things.

The stranger had opened his eyes slowly; the impact of death had never hit so he was surprised to find himself floating in a space like place. Prince Sehun had a hand gripped onto Luhan’s hand once more, his eyes wide and mouth agape by the sudden change.

“How did you do that?” The Prince asked, his voice straining to be heard at first but eventually echoing into the recesses.

“I don’t know.” Luhan shrugged as he looked around; noticing the other holes and the places they led. Luhan had definitely been in this place before, it was the first time he had ever jumped into a wormhole and landed in his backyard. “What is this place?” The blonde asked as he nestled into his turtle neck, the temperature was freezing the very tips of his ears.

“This is the Space.” The redhead and blonde strained to understand the Prince’s voice. “This is where all wormholes lead before choosing a route to slip through.”

The tall redheaded stranger had been curled into himself, his jacket covering as much as possible in the little space it could.

“It’s good to wear this for traveling. It’ll keep you warm.” The Prince smiled as he pointed to the dark outfit the blonde was sporting.

Luhan had remembered a distinct conversation where Mr. Park mentioned the ability of the fiber. He felt particularly lucky that he had thrown on the outfit in that particular moment.

A loud roar had suddenly shook the space. It was aggressive and desperate—Luhan and the stranger had both covered their ears at the noise.

“It’s the King!” Prince Sehun exclaimed. “Go! Find a portal to jump through!” It was difficult to understand the Prince’s words.

“Which one?!”

“Anyone, just go!”

Before Luhan could choose one, a crack of red had broken out above them. Everything shook despite the three of them not touching anything. A roar even louder and more deafening than before had cause the three to shudder. It was an awful noise but it was enough to distract them from each other. A hand had reached down into the crack of the wormhole, a hand spiked and elongated with appendages rather than fingers. It swatted around, creating a whirlwind like tornado. This caused all the portals to stir, jumbling and mixing up with one another. A few crashed into each other and exploded into combustions of fireworks. Prince Sehun had gained his balance and quickly pushed the two humans into a random hole.

“Don’t transport without waiting!” Was the last thing Luhan could make out as he watched the Prince grow smaller and smaller.

“Sehun!”

✴✧✴

Luhan woke to the sound of whimpers. Like a child had been crying to itself.

He felt sore, his head hurt and his arms were jumbled against his chest and neck. But at least he felt warm and comfortable, as if he had been enveloped in a thick comforter. The teen could hardly open his eyes, he felt beyond groggy but he could at least make out the outline of the stranger beside him. He was faced away, his tuffs of curly red hair had been swaying gently in a soft breeze. Luhan looked the other way, trying to find the source of the crying. He had found a small looking child crouched in itself and covered in a long and glorious blue robe. Luhan tried to lift himself up and see where he was but it was quite the chore when his arms felt weak and useless. The air smelt fresh, like freshly cut grass and cool crisp wind. Luhan let the threads of grass run through his fingers; they felt oddly soft, like that of a child’s head. The sky was a bright baby blue, not a cloud in sight but little specs of stars had dusted the horizon. Lu lifted his head and let the wind graze against his features, it calmed him down a great deal.

However, a child whimpered even louder again, this made Luhan look back. He slowly turned to his back and sat up, letting the blood rush down and calm his headache.

“Why are you crying?” Luhan asked out of nowhere, he wasn’t really sure why he was so upfront and asking such a personal question.

The child did not respond, instead, he turned away and cried.

Luhan sighed. He crawled over to the kid and pulled off the giant blue robe that covered him.

“Hey!” The small voice yelled out.

“Hi yourself.”

“Give that back.”

Luhan wrapped the robe in his hands. It was elegantly made in design, similar to that of pure silk. The boy himself had been wearing something akin to a kimono; it was black and airy, a white collar had been the only thing poking out.

“Only if you tell me why you’re crying.”

The boy grew red in the face, his cheeks puffing out as he pouted. The boy then crossed his small arms on his chest and turned around.

Luhan giggled at the small thing, he reminded him a lot of himself when he was younger. He remember when he was hot headed like that—the boy was too cute for his own good. What was curious about the small boy was the fact he was so pale, smooth and almost aquatic like. Like ripples of water were surging up and down his skin. It was almost hard to take his eyes off the small boy.

“Can you tell me where I am?” Luhan asked, knowing he would not get a response from the boy. “…Are you all alone? You seem a bit young to be left all alone.”

The boy froze, he was then suddenly overcome with tears and started sobbing again.

“I miss him!” The boy mumbled through sobs.

A groan emitted from behind Luhan, “Five more minutes’ mom.” The redheaded stranger had mumbled as he started to wake up.

“Who do you miss?” Luhan grimaced at the redhead and turned his attention back to the small boy.

“My other half!” The boy exploded, it was almost as if Luhan should have known the answer. The boy had turned around and buried his hands in his face.

“Your other half?” This expression had definitely baffled him, why was such a small child using such adult terms?

“I’m lost… I’ve been misplaced from my Kai.” The boy began crying even harder.

Luhan’s heart tugged at the sight of the small boy so he inched himself closer and wrapped his arms around him. The boy responded quickly and gripped onto Luhan’s shirt, crying his heart away.

“Do you know where your Kai is?”

“Of course not! I would be with him if I did!”

“…Well, how long have you been separated?”

“I don’t know… A long time.. I have been lost for a very long time.” The boy sniffled as he let go of Luhan.

“And what’s your name little one?”

“Dou..” He blushed upon telling Luhan his name, unable to look him in the eyes.

“Is something wrong?”

“N-No… You’re just very pretty…” Luhan was shocked by the sudden confession and chuckled after letting it sink in.

“Well I have to say, no one has ever told me that before. Thank you.” He smiled kindly to the little one. “My name is Lu.”

“Lu? Lu…” He repeated the name on his lips, trying it out over and over. It was a fun sound to make.

“Have you tried calling out for this Kai?”

Dou looked up and tilted his head. “No I haven’t.”

“Then let’s go ahead and see if we can call out to him. We’ll find the nearest town okay?”

“What’s a town?” The boy questioned as he held onto Luhan’s hand.

“It’s a place.. It’s a place where lots of people live.”

“Oh, there’s no one else on this asteroid. It’s just me and Kai. We live off each other.”

Luhan furrowed his brows. “You what?”

“Mhm. It’s just the two of us, we’re never separated. Well… Until recently.. The evil King of Morphia had split us up. Now I can’t find him.”

“Well… Let’s show this big bad King of Morphia who’s in charge. KAI! KAAAAAIIIII!!!” Luhan began shouting across the land as he walked hand in hand with the boy.

“Kaiii! Kaiiiiii!!!” The small boy raised and hand and held it to his mouth, like Luhan was doing. The two walked a few steps but not very far before the boy panicked. “Wait, I’ve never been any further than this.” He ripped his hand from Luhan and stepped back. “What if he comes back and we’re not where we usually are?”

“You mean you never went further than this to find him? He could be on the other side of the asteroid for all we know!”

“But what if he comes back?!”

“Well, we’ll never know if we don’t try. Come on, you have to try to at least look for him.” Luhan had held out his hand, hoping the child would get the idea and grab it.

It hadn’t taken much longer but the boy shot up and grabbed onto Luhan’s hand. He had closed his eyes, as if it would hurt to step any further. But when nothing happened he opened his eye one by one, walking slowly onward.

“See? It’s not so bad.”

“It’s not bad at all…” The boy breathed, a smile growing upon his features. “KAI!? KAII??!”

The two began shouting in unison for the missing boy. It was unclear how long they had walked or looked for the boy, but it was obvious there was nothing around. The land was completely bare, grass and spots of rock had simply covered the ground. It wasn’t until they walked a little further did they start to see the outline of tall buildings.

Along the way, the redheaded stranger had followed along.

“What’s that?” The tall redhead asked.

“It looks like… A city..” Luhan mumbled as they walked closer.

“Kai must be there!” Dou had grabbed the robe from Luhan’s arms and made a mad dash for the place.

“Wait, Dou!” Luhan called out as he tried to chase the boy. But the child was much too fast for him.

The red haired boy and Luhan had both run into the city, there were skyscrapers high in the sky as cars floated and drove on the streets. It was a very high-tech little city, full of busy people rushing to get nowhere. The people came from all different kinds of life, some looked human, and some looked green and ogre like. They came in all shapes and sizes, protruding in all kinds of ways. Luhan normally would have been frightened by such differences, but he was too busy focusing on finding a particular little boy. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a blue cloak disappear around a corner. It was too loud to hear if Dou was calling out Kai’s name, so he chased after the boy immediately.

When Luhan and the red haired boy maneuvered through the diverse looking people he found himself watching a small boy sitting on the ground and looking up at an even taller man. The man seemed like he was taller than the red haired stranger. Luhan ran after the kid and heard the tail end of their conversation.

“—have you seen my other half Kai?” Dou had asked innocently.

“I’m afraid not young boy. And as for running without looking where you’re going, I’m going to have to write you up.” The man’s deep authoritative voice spoke.

“I’m sorry sir, he’s with me.”

“And you are?”

“Lu..”

“Well Lu, looks like I’m going to have to write you up for leaving your child unsupervised.”

“W-Wait, no, he’s not _my_ kid—”

“If he’s not _your_ kid, then whose is he?”

“Uh—”

“I’m Kai’s!” The boy shouted as he stood to stomp a foot.

“Well where is this _Kai_?”

“That’s why I was asking you!” The boy pouted again, his face turning red in frustration.

“That’s it, I’m taking you in.”

“What?!” Luhan exclaimed in. “Take us where?!”

“Downtown.”

“Are you a cop or something?!” The red haired asked suddenly.

“Yes I am, an officer of the law.” He pointed to the badge on his left breast, it read Officer Sirk. Luhan squinted his eyes to try and remember where he had heard the name before. “And I don’t like your tone, so I’m going to have to take you in as well.”

“What?!” The red haired boy exclaimed.

“Don’t make me hit you old man!” The little boy blurted.

“Dou! That was rude!” Luhan quickly caught the little boy’s fist and held him back.

“But I need to find Kai! I need to speak to someone who can help me, this is wasting my time!” The boy had struggled against Luhan’s grasp.

“Officer, I’m sorry. But can you take us to your superior?”

“My superior?” He harrumphed. “I _am_ my own superior. If you want to talk to someone higher than me, then you’ll have to speak to the king!”

“That’s perfect! Bring me to the king!” Dou exclaimed.

“You’ll have to request an audience with him first.” The officer said.

“And how do we get an audience with the king?” The red haired male asked.

“By me of course!” The same man who had been officer Sirk quickly changed his hat and badge that now read ‘Secretary Sirk’. “As the official Secretary of the Court, I can make your appointment.” His voice had changed quickly to something crisp and breathy.

“Wait weren’t you just…”

“I am now Court Secretary.” He pressed forward. Secretary Sirk had then pulled out an electronic pad that held files upon files of data. “Now let’s see… The next available opening is, Tuesday!”

“What’s today?” The redhead whispered to Luhan.

“Of next year!”

“What?!” The three young males shouted in unison.

“I can’t wait that long. I have to find Kai now!” The small one shouted.

“Secretary.. Sirk.. Is there any way we can slip in before then. Possibly today?” Luhan wanted to speed up the process as much as possible. He still needed to get back to the prince.

“Forget it, this guy is just gonna waste our time.” The redhead spoke curtly to Luhan.

“ _Pssst._ ” The trio froze. They then looked back at Sirk who had changed his hat to a beanie and removed his badge. “Ya lookin’ to get into the royal palace?” He whispered in a heavy Boston accent as he leaned in to the three.

“Uh—” Lu went to speak.

“Illegally?”

“Wait, weren’t you just a police officer?” The redhead questioned.

“Naw, I’m the guy who can get you places. Unseen and untouched. Follow me.”

Before anyone had time to respond they started to follow the man who had slunk into the shadows of an alley.

“This guy’s weird.” The redhead whispered to the two in front of him.

Luhan had been holding hands with the small child as they walked. It was a silent walk behind twists and turns with this ever changing man. But it was not long before they were upon a grand building’s side.

“This is where I stop. You guys enter through there.”

“Oh, thank you.” Luhan blinked for a minute when he saw how small the opening of the window was. It looked as if someone had left it open to air out their office.

“I’ll put you in first, Dou. But you have to wait for me okay?”

“Okay.” The boy nodded firmly and was lifted into the window.

The red haired boy had then lifted Luhan up into the window. The coast was clear, not a person in sight. It seemed odd but Luhan shrugged it off and lent over the window sill to help the redhead in. Sirk had helped the male up, Lu grabbed his hand and pulled him up.

“Thank you!” Luhan whispered down to the man who had helped them.

“Eh no problem.” And just like that the male had changed his hat to the officer and put on a badge.

He began to walk away, guarding the entrance to the alley.

“He was weird.” The redhead said as Lu hustled over.

“Yes he was.” The two ran to the other end of the room and poked their heads out the door. As they did this, Dou had burst out and ran through the halls.

It was another goose chase after the small child, trying to make sure he didn’t get into any more trouble. It would have been nice if they asked Sirk for directions throughout the palace. It was no help when the palace was practically empty. Not a soul had been in sight. Rooms full of filing cabinets, rooms full of desks, rooms full of books had all been empty. One would think there had to be at least one person around? The halls were barren with thick layers of dust as if grand paintings and vases once lined them. Such a magnificent building felt lonely without people to admire its great opulence.

However, little Dou had found himself in a large room with a throne at the end of it. Colum’s stood all throughout, creating this feeling of grandeur.

“Halt! Who goes there?” A booming voice had stopped all three males from entering any further.

It came from the end of the hall where there sat a man in his throne. It was the king who had been sitting loosely in his chair, quite ungraceful.

“It is I, your highness, Lu.” Luhan responded quickly as he noticed the crown upon the man’s head. It had glistened in the lighting.

“I know of no Lu. Be gone!” The man bellowed across the hall.

“I have a question for you!” Dou had spoken out suddenly.

“Who dares disrupt me further?!”

“Me! And I have a question!” The small child yelled back as he walked across the empty hall.

It took a moment, but the king finally gave his answer. “…Speak.”

“Have you seen my other half? He’s about this tall..” Dou leveled his hand in front of his eyes and stuck a tongue out. “And his name is Kai.”

“There are so many people here that tall and named Kai, you’re going to have to be more specific than that.” The king chided and slumped back into his chair. Upon closer inspection, the throne had been crested in gold and red velvet. It sat at top a set of stairs, a golden flask in his hand.

“Well.. There’s only one of him. He’s my Kai.. How can that be so difficult?”

The king slammed his cup down on the side of the throne. “You make no sense! Be more specific. What makes this Kai so special in comparison to all others?!”

“Because… Because…!” The boy thought long and hard about it. He knew his answer, but it was so terribly hard to put it in words. Kai was simply his Kai. There was only one of him and that’s what made him so special.

Luhan felt awfully sad for the boy. The king was quite the rude individual.

“Because… He’s kind. He’s sweet and handsome. He is everything that I am not. He protects me when I’m attacked and he gives me confidence to face the world. And I love him! That’s why he’s so special to me!” The boy had faced down to the ground, his fists held tightly at his sides as he thought about Kai. It had taken every last ounce of him to say just those little words.

The king was silent. Luhan had watched him carefully, waiting for his response.

“…Fine. I shall help you find this Kai you love so much. I will send out an official decree to the people to search for the boy. Squire!” The king suddenly called.

Two large doors had opened at the end of the hall.

“Yes, your highness?” In walked Sirk, dressed in a ridiculously flamboyant servant outfit.

The red haired boy smacked his face at this.

“Make an announcement to the people of this land that there is a boy missing. He is about three feet off the ground.”

“He has a red robe, just like this one!” Dou held up his blue one.

“And no delay’s!”

“Of course sir.” Sirk bowed his head and removed himself from the hall.

“Of course, I’m not doing this without payment.” The king smirked as the trio turned around to him. “You must do something for me.”

“What is it?” The small boy asked.

“You must accompany me and be my friend.”

The boy for a moment was shocked by these words. Eventually he puffed out his chest and bore a rather angry expression. The king retuned the pouting face, just as angry as the child.

“Fine.” The boy relaxed and smiled kindly.

The king was genuinely surprised by his answer. His face showing every bit of surprise he felt. “Really?”

“Yeah, I think Kai would love you. Well… He loves everyone.” The boy smiled.

The king for the first time in their talk had smiled all his perfect regal teeth, in the most genuine way he could.

“What is your name little one?”

“Dou!”

“King Jay, at your service.” He bowed his head.

Dou had smiled so brightly that as he turned around to greet Luhan and the redhead the two could only smile. “Thank you so much. I really don’t know what to do.”

“Just find your other half, and I’ll be happy with that.” Lu smiled and ruffled the boy’s hair.

“You’re majesty! There’s been news of a boy with a red robe already! He’s looking for his other half named Dou!” Sirk had bustled into the room.

“That was fast.” The redhead mumbled under his breath to Luhan, the blonde nodded in response.

“Well bring him in!” The king had ordered and began descending from his throne.

Dou wasted not a second and ran after the squire, his little legs moving inhumanly fast.

“Dou!” Luhan called and ran after the boy.

As he caught up to the boy, another small child had been rushing toward him. In a flurry of red and blue the two had crashed into a hug. Luhan had lost sight of them as their robes encased them in a wall of color. It was beautiful, the way the union lit up in a mass of color.

Within the light, Luhan could see Dou being lifted around in a hug. It was odd though, the two were taller than just a moment ago. Slowly, they grew, taller and taller as their arms had entangled around one another. By the time they were as tall as Luhan, they had stopped spinning around and pressed their foreheads together, gazing so lovingly into each other’s eyes. The two had leaned in for a kiss, both innocent yet so passionate. Speaking words of longing and adoration that Luhan could only imagine books knew hardly anything about. The redheaded boy had gagged at the sight, but only playfully.

As soon as the kiss had initiated the light and cloth had enveloped them once more. The king had gathered beside the two while Sirk watched in awe on the other side.

Before them was a tall man; a single one rather than two small ones.

“Thank you.” The man spoke calmly. His voice was so soft and deep that it almost seemed an oxymoron. “You brought me back to life.”

“Wait, what.” The redhead commented, his mouth agape at the sudden change.

“My name is Kaidou. And I have been separated for almost fifty years now. Thank you for bringing me back.” He bowed his head to the king, Luhan and the redhead.

“And you are most welcome. I’m glad I could be of help.” Luhan bowed back with a soft smile upon his features.

“What?!” The redhead had dropped his mouth even further.

“So I guess this means you will not be my friend, does it not?” The king pouted as he looked away. He was quite small in stature in comparison to everyone else in the room.

“Of course it does not. My friend, I have made you a promise. I will keep it as such.”

The king brightened his face and turned to the man. “And I do not have to pay you, do I?”

“I would not imagine why you would.” Kaidou smiled.

“Then come! I want to show you my home!”

“Then I shall show you mine, after.” Kaidou bowed his head.

The king could only smile, his cheeks were beginning to hurt with how much he had been smiling in the last couple of minutes.

Kaidou and the king were about to leave when everyone caught a glimpse of Sirk at the other side of the room. His hat had been taken off and held tightly in his hands, he looked as if he had just seen the most shocking thing in the world.

“Squire?”

Sirk simply stared at the spot that Kaidou had walked away from.

“Th-That… That was the most… Beautiful thing I have ever seen… It was so honest.. So true.” He whispered. “How did you do that?” This side of Sirk seemed different, like he wasn’t pretending to be someone anymore.

“It is just who we are… Who I am.”

Sirk nodded at this and dropped the hat in his hand. It was silent for a moment, but not much longer after did Sirk decide to walk out of the room.

“Where are you going, Squire?”

“I quit.” He said not even taking a moment to look back.

“But—” Kaidou raised a hand and shushed the king.

“Let him be. He must do this on his own.”

“…No.. He should not do it alone..”

“I did not say he has to do it alone, he must do it on his own.” Kaidou repeated.

The king grimaced. “You are always welcome in my palace, Sirk!” The king shouted after the man.

Sirk paused for a moment, he did not look back and he did not say a word but you could hear the thanks he wanted.

When the doors closed after him the king turned to the two left over males. “Come, Lu and… You. You are welcome to join us!”

Luhan shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t. Someone is expecting me. But I don’t know if it’s safe for me to travel yet… He told me to wait a while..”

“Travel where?”

“Back to Earth, where I come from.”

“You are from Earth? That is such a far ways from here!” The king exclaimed.

“I shall assist you, if you would like to see if the coast is clear.”

“Oh, yes, please!” Luhan had pleaded.

Kaidou stepped to the side and gathered his hands in a circular fashion. In a moment there was a two-dimensional circle brought up in the middle of the four individuals. Each of them looked their head over the circle.

“You traveled by the wormholes, correct?” Kaidou asked.

“Yes.”

“This shall let you look upon the Space, but I cannot put you through it. This is merely a reflection of what it looks like.”

Luhan nodded and looked into the mirror. There was nothing happening, all seemed still with the various other portals. There was obvious disarray from the previous encounter but it was enough to show a calm state. Fires of white and sparks flown about here and there, a few portals looked dismembered.

“The coast looks clear. I’m going to have to travel now. I just hope the Prince is still alive..” He mumbled to himself.

“The Prince? What prince?” The king asked.

“Prince Sehun.”

“Prince Sehun?!” Kaidou and the king exclaimed in unison.

“That child better not have gotten himself into any trouble! He is a good child.” The king spoke strongly, it seemed mean but he did truly care for the prince.

“He is indeed a kind soul. It is unfair the King of Morphia chases him so intensely. He would be lucky if the King had not gotten to him yet.”

“Yeah, lucky..” Luhan repeated idly mostly because it wasn’t true. The king had gotten him more than once with him barely escaping with his life. “Lucky…” He repeated for himself, Mr. Park’s words had rang through his head: _Think outside the box_. “…Lucky.. Lucky! That’s it! That’s the answer!”

“What is?” The redhead questioned.

“We need to get back, quick!” Luhan had stepped away from the men and focused himself in the center of the room, his hands raised to summon a wormhole. It took a moment but it had appeared as a white portal again. “Come on!” Luhan called out to the red head.

“It was a pleasure meeting you Lu!” Kaidou shouted.

“The same here!” The king shouted back. “Tell the Prince to visit on his way home, will you?”

“I will! Goodbye!” Luhan grabbed the redhead’s hand and jumped into the portal.

✴✧✴

Just as Luhan had stepped into the portal, something was different. The Space was not its usual form. Instead it was pitch black, not a light in sight. He looked around for the redhead, calling his name yet earning no answer. Where was he? Did something happen to the stranger?

Luhan panicked, thinking he might have lost the male in the process.

In the flash of an eye Luhan’s mother had appeared before him. Her face still blurry, yet more focused than it had been in the past.

“Mother…” He muttered.

Lu could not tell if his body was floating or moving through the space but his mother looked as if she was flying away. Luhan began to panic again, it was like the dreams he had over and over, where he watch his mother leave and he could never reach out to her.

“Mom!” Luhan called out again, this time to stop her. As she floated away her face started to clear, he could see bits and pieces come back rather than just the red lips she bore.

However, the more her face appeared the closer she started coming. A metal door appeared behind her suddenly but for some reason, Luhan did not worry. There was no need to panic. He had watched her leave two hundred times over in his mind, what made this one any different?

“Good boy, Lu.” She said much out of the usual routine.

The words were so different but they held the utmost effect on him that he did not realize as she opened the door to the celestial world outside.

Before his mother could so much as step out and fall, he had caught her unknowingly.

There she bore a smile on her face, her face in all her glory. It was as if age did not touch the memory, her skin smooth and eyes puffy with life. The only fault to her was the sadness that radiated from her eyes. A light that had left long ago.

“Okay.” Luhan said out of nowhere. His eyes had brimmed with tears. “Okay..” He finalized with a nod.

His mother’s smile perked up slightly at the corner, her melancholy protruding more than anything. There was a reason why Luhan could never remember her face.

It was because she looked so sad. Even as a child he knew she looked unhappy with life.

He let her hand go and watched as she disappeared into the stars. His tears slipping as he did so.

✴✧✴

As Luhan came too, his eyes fluttered to a most pleasant sight. This made him rise with excitement and smash his head into the face that had been hovering over his.

Luhan groaned at the impact and held his forehead. The Prince chuckled at the impact.

“You are awake.” The Prince said in a resolved tone. It seemed he had been worried for the latter.

“Yes.. Where are we?” Luhan looked around and noticed he had been situated in grass once more; this time it was the backyard of Mr. Park’s house, the moon had been shining brightly still. The Victorian house was exactly the way he had remembered it, yet the yard had been strangely clear of all the uncanny items that used to sit there.

“Mr. Park’s house.”

“Good—” Luhan gasped. “The kid! Oh no where is he?!” Luhan looked around frantically.

“He is fine, don’t worry. He is right here. Sound asleep.” The Prince moved and revealed a body lying gracefully on the ground.

“Oh thank goodness.. I thought I lost him.. Are you okay? How did you escape the king?”

“I jumped into another hole before he could get his hands on me… My friend, you are quite remarkable. How is it that you are able to jump through wormholes so easily with more than one person? Not even someone as skilled as I can do that. As you saw, it took a lot of energy out of me.”

“I’m… I’m not exactly sure.. But you know what? That doesn’t matter, it’s kept us safe and that’s all that matters.” Luhan smiled at the rainbow haired boy before him. He was ever so radiant against the moonlight and it made the blonde’s heart melt with the kind words he spoke.

“…I must apologize then.”

“Why?”

“I cannot keep running… I have to face him. I keep putting you in danger because of it.” The Prince held a hand out and rested it upon the blonde’s jaw.

Luhan could feel his heart flutter upon the touch. Yet the simple contact had made him feel a surge of warmth, a warmth that was so familiar and comforting that he couldn’t help but lean into the feeling. It felt as good as the clothes he had been wearing.

“Don’t worry. I think I solved your answer.” Luhan held the taller’s hand as he stood to his feet; his legs only just a little wobbly as he did so.

The two ran for the house in front of them. The Prince following closely to the shorter, in case a swarm of Morphians attacked. As Luhan broke into the locked door of the house he couldn’t help but noticed how clean the house looked. It was almost as if the parade of mess had not yet stumbled through. This threw Luhan off by a foot. He doubted he was in the right house for a moment. It wasn’t until he recognized the largely built bookcases did he know this was Mr. Park’s house. He thought for a sad moment that he might have been too late to keep Mr. Park’s promise. That he had passed away and someone had cleaned his house up. After all, he wasn’t sure of how long he had been gone for.

“Prince,” A voice appeared breathlessly behind the two as they rummaged around.

The two looked behind and found three floating humanoids. Gond, To and Xim.

“My friends, you are safe!”

“Of course we’re safe!” Gond snapped. “You Great Graton, what are you still doing here?! You should be lightyears away from here!”

“I could not leave. Not without my answer.”

Luhan had turned back around and knelt down in front of the bookcase where a dark black chest was being held. He pulled it out and undid the locks as the others talked.

“Forget the answer, you’re going to have to just do without it. I’m sure you can find another place with an answer.” Xim spoke out this time.

“That is not for you to say so lightly. You told me the answer I sought would be here, so I have come for that answer.”

“But your answer is not here.” To had said lightly, his voice sweet.

“Got it!” Luhan exclaimed in excitement. Everyone in the dark room had turned to him, waiting to see what he had to show.

However, as Luhan pressed his hands inside the second chest he had found nothing. “What..?” He let his hands wipe all over the bottom of it. “Where is it?! It was here not too long ago!”

“Hey guys look, I found a four leaf clover in the backyard.” The redhead announced as he stepped through the house.

“That’s perfect now we can—GET DOWN!” Prince Sehun suddenly yelled as the redhead was being stalked by one of the Morphians.

The three humanoids flew into action and attacked the Morphian as the redhead dove away from the monster. Luhan panicked and projected a small wormhole, one that did not connect to the Space. He grabbed onto Prince Sehun and the stranger and jumped into the invisible circle.

Not a moment later were they spit out onto the ground, sand flying every which way.

“Will you stop doing that?!” The tall redhead groaned as he tried to recollect his thoughts. Everyone had a particularly bumpy landing, even the Prince who had been jumping through wormholes since he could walk.

“I’m sorry.” Luhan groaned back just as disoriented.

The sky beyond the horizon of the ocean had been changing color slightly. Morning was upon them all.

The Prince had long stood to his feet and held a hand out for the teen. Luhan grabbed the kind gesture and was pulled up to his feet with ease. The golden haired teen stood there, so close to the prince. His eyes were locked onto those wondrous rings of starlight. A thousand stories had been hiding behind the Prince’s eyes, all stories that Luhan knew he could listen to even if it took an eternity.

“You are brave.” The Prince whispered.

“No… I’m no—”

“You are.. More so than I ever could be. All I do is run.”

“But yo—” Luhan was cut short when the sky had turned black and the ground shook in violent tremors. It was hard to keep balance, so much to the point that all three of the males had ended up on the floor.

“Prince Sehun.” An ominous voice resonated through the sky. “You will no longer run from me.” A dark red streak split across where the sky once laid. “Now is the time I finish you once and for all.”

Through the crack fell a large and black being. It was full of malice; everyone could feel the thickness of its evil as it crashed into the ocean.

Luhan had stood to his feet as soon as the beast was standing on its own. It had stood more than three skyscrapers tall, evil oozed from every dark crevice as it instigated through the water. It was easy to tell that the king was having difficulty traveling through the water, it was most certainly not used to the feeling of gravity through water. Luhan had run in front of the Prince, baring his body before the monster before it could get to him. Teeth sharp and centipede like poked out every which way as the king bore them. His eyes were small yet red with an anger that terrified all that gazed upon him.

“Do you still have that clover?” Luhan yelled at the redhead.

The redhead stared with large eyes, brought near to tears. He looked to his hand and found the four leaf clover there—wilted but still there.

“Give it to me!” Luhan yelled in desperation as the King ventured closer.

The redhead did not respond. He sat on the ground, frozen in fear at the sight of the giant bug like beast.

Luhan turned on his heels and dove for the sword on the Prince’s belt; accidentally making an acrascope fall out in the process. Luhan took the item as well.

“Wait, stop!” The Prince exclaimed and tried to reach a hand out.

“No… Now it’s my turn to do something.” Luhan stood center again, the sword held sloppily in his hands as he aimed it at the beast.

A strike of lighting had shot out from the beast and toward the three of them. Luhan deflected it with the sword, letting the energy absorb into the item. He gave all his might—trying to keep it from pushing him back; a few bolts slipping past and cutting his face. When the electricity stopped Luhan’s arms fell from the impact, they felt as if a heavy weight had been vibrating in his muscles. It was a horrible feeling.

“The clover!” Luhan screamed at the stranger.

The redhead scrambled to his feet and ran the small thing over.

Luhan took it into his hands and pulled out the acrascope, he clicked a button and watched as the blue cartridge chip slipped out. In the empty holster Lu placed the clover.

“There is no clover like this one, because it is the one he chose.” Luhan closed the holster and clicked the top of the acrascope. “There may be hundreds like it, but this one is special. Because it is _my_ lucky four leaf clover and I love it just the same. There are no other clovers like it.” He repeated the man’s words as he held the item up to the beast, a bright light starting to blare out.

The king hollered out once more, its voice not as scary as it once was.

“IT IS MY LUCKY FOUR LEAF CLOVER. THERE ARE NO OTHER CLOVERS LIKE IT.” Luhan yelled at the top of his lungs as the acrascope created a light even brighter than before. Everything had been illuminated in a light of bright white; a light so radiant that it blinded all those who gazed upon it.

 

 

 

 

As the light faded, glistens of white light fell like snowflakes. The sand and water had all been illuminated in the sparkles as the sun rose even higher above the horizon. Luhan had fallen to his knees, chest heaving at the sight before him.

The king had been defeated.

Something so utterly vile had been turned into a blissful sprinkle of beauty.

“Are you alright?” The Prince placed a hand on the teen’s shoulder as he crawled over.

Luhan looked back over his shoulder. The Prince was just as handsome as ever with the way the gleams of light fell into his hair and made it shimmer.

“Ah fuck it.” Luhan breathed out and turned over to push the Prince down, his lips pressed firmly against the taller one’s.

The Prince laid against the sand as Luhan kissed him, his eyes were wide with shock upon the alien feeling.

Just as the Prince was just about to respond and wrap his arms around the teen’s waist Luhan pulled away and heaved. “I have no idea of how to kiss.” He said suddenly.

“This is a sign of affection, is it not?” The Prince asked innocently.

“Indeed it is.”

“On my home, we—” Just as the Prince was about to demonstrate, a deep voice had cleared its throat.

The two looked up and met the awkward face of the redhead. His cheeks were rosy with embarrassment.

“Um. Well.. It’s great and all that you two found love and all that good shit, but I just want to watch the sunrise in peace.”

Luhan erupted out in a melodic laugh. It had been a good long time since he had laughed like that. He removed himself from the Prince and sat in the sand. The abruptness of the male was warming to his heart. Much like the way the Prince made him feel, warm. A warmth he knew long ago; when his mother still graced the house with her presence.

The Prince felt like home.

“Then. Let’s watch the sunrise.” Luhan said with ease.

The redhead sat next to the two in the sand, his legs spread out in their long length. The Prince sat crisscrossed as Luhan held his knees close to his chest.

“…You know, I have to say I never intended on using the clover like that. It was quite the smart thinking on your end.” The Prince complimented in his smooth voice.

“If that’s not what you were thinking then what were you going to do?”

“I was going to take the clover and jump back to my home. Give it to my father and hope he could fix everything… But.. I guess I was wrong.”

“Mmm.. I don’t think so.. There’s nothing wrong with having help from your father… There are just some moments when you can’t make it. And then have to do it on your own… For me, I’ve been trying to do things on my own for so long… And I’ve realized.. All these things I have been doing for _myself_. I had been so caught up trying not to remember the face my mother bore when she left; a look beyond the words that define sadness. And that made me not want to be sad, but I hadn’t realized I was still making myself sad despite it all... I thought if I made everything perfect, then I would be happy. There was no way I could be sad… But I was wrong. Now I want to change that, I want to do more for others… I want to be vulnerable and bare myself against the toughest of things… And as much as I don’t want to do it alone.. I know I won’t be.”

The Prince had turned to see what kind of face the blonde made. What he saw made his heart race with wonder and adoration; for Luhan’s eyes were sparkling with the fascination of realization.

“That is a most noble statement.”

Luhan turned to the Prince, wanting to see what kind of expression he bore as well.

“I one day wish to be half as noble as you.” Upon the Prince’s lips had been a smile so sincere and so beautiful that Luhan could hardly find a reason to look away.

No one had ever said something quite so nice to him before. It made a warmth flow through the teen’s that had been stronger than the clothes he had been wearing. Luhan turned away and smiled to himself, a happiness not far behind the warmth that surged. The sun rose even higher above the ocean and landed upon the blonde’s cheeks; he had never felt so at peace before.

A hand had snuck its way into Luhan’s, a hand so warm and loving that he never wanted to let go of it.

But with all happy endings, comes a goodbye. A departure that wretched at teen’s heart strings.

“This is for you.” Luhan held out the acrascope for the prince. The three had been standing before one another.

“I want you to keep it—”

“No. It’s the cure you are looking for. You came here for this so I want you to leave with it.”

The Prince furrowed his brows as he took the object.

“It’s more than just a little luck.” Luhan smiled.

The Prince smiled widely, the corners of his lips curving up in a way that brought on a set of tears he hadn’t expected.

“Do not cry.” The Prince brought his hands to the teens rosy cheeks, wiping away the tears that fell.

“I can’t help it.” Luhan laughed awkwardly. He really hated crying like that.

“I will not be very far, you know.”

“What do you mean you won’t be far?! You’re going to be millions upon trillions of miles away!”

The Prince shook his head. He took a finger and pressed it against the teen’s chest. “Stars shine brightly long after they have died… That means, it takes courage to love after death. And you are one of the bravest people I know…”

Luhan stood there in bewilderment. His eyes unblinking with the sudden realization washing over him. He chuckled after a moment and wiped a few tears from his nose. “You don’t even know my name.” The finger the Prince had placed on the teen’s chest had turned into a palm.

“I do not need to know you name. For the place you made in my heart is more prominent than any title… When I find myself missing you, I will close my eyes and search my heart for you. Because it is only with the heart, one can see rightly… Do you want to know how I know this?”

“How?” Luhan asked in a whisper. His voice had lost its capacity to speak.

“Because you have taught me this. I have learned many a thing from you. Many a thing I will not forget.” The Prince smiled for the teen.

Luhan grabbed the hand that had been pressed against his chest and brought it to his lips. The Prince had more beauty to offer than any one person could offer. He only wished he could spend more time with the Prince.

The Prince did the same, taking Luhan’s hand and kissing it just as gingerly back. A true gentleman to the fold.

The Prince had then turned his attention to the tall redhead just beside them.

“I know you do not know me, but I know you. And I will never forget you. Thank you, for all you have done for me. One cannot repay the time you sacrificed for me.” The Prince bowed his head deeply to the tall redhead.

The male found himself uncomfortable at the sudden acknowledgement. His cheeks rouged as he looked side to side to see if anyone else might have been who he was talking to. It was only when the Prince stood in front and make direct eye contact did the tall male freeze.

The Prince rested a hand on the taller one’s shoulder and held it firmly. He nodded his head once more, earning a meek nod from the stranger, finally.

“Then… I must be off.” The Prince turned around and presented a proper bow to both humans. A white wormhole having been opened behind him against the rising sun.

“Promise you will visit?” Luhan blurted before the male could leave.

The wind had picked up and brushed gently against the teen’s blonde locks. The way the Prince’s hair sparkled so beautifully in the sunlight was an array of colorful wonder. A smile had played upon the boy’s lips, a smile that Luhan could not read.

“It is also time for you to go back, Lu Han.”

“What?” Luhan questioned with a slight tilt of his head.

“Goodbye.”

Before the teen could respond, he had fallen through the ground and into darkness.

 

✴✧✴

 

A light breeze had stirred the teen awake. The chirping of birds, the ringing of a telephone and the rush of a car going by everyone once in a while was enough for Luhan to question where he was. He had breathed in deeply as sleep began to leave his body comfortingly. The air smelt of grass and dirt, a smell he was beginning to become accustomed to.

He dug his hands into the ground, feeling the grass below and enjoying the very touch of it. His eyes fluttered opened showing him his backyard once more. He had been facing the side that showcased the fence where it had been broken, the pale new fence was stark against the dark, tall, old fencing. The dark and tall house on the other side brought a smile to his face. A loud crash emitted from behind him and caused him to wipe the grass and pieces of dirt that clung to his right cheek. As he did so he felt his face for the cuts that had been bothering him all night, but as he ran a hand through, there had been nothing.

“Huh?” Luhan muttered as he sat up and brought both his hands to his face to feel for any abrasions, he was sure there would be dried blood or bruises.

“Han?! Hannie?! What the hell are you doing outside?!”

Luhan whipped his head toward the patio where his father had stood.

“Dad!”

“Did you… Did you sleep out there all night?”

“Not that I’m aware of...”

“I was looking for you all morning. When did you get out there?”

“I.. I’m not sure..” The teen began to stand to his feet.

“It rained all night, so the grass is all wet, hurry inside!” His father instructed.

Luhan stalled for a moment, looking around for the red haired boy and Prince. There was nothing, no sign of there ever being a person beside him. A thought in the back of his head began to scare him… _Was it a dream?_

“What time is it?” Luhan asked as he wiped his eyes clean and approached the door.

“It’s eight-thirty… What… What happened to your hair?”

Luhan paused as he could not take his eyes off the house next door. Ignoring his father he passed by and sprinted for the neighbor’s yard.  

When he arrived at the front door he wasted not a second to try and open it, yet the door would not budge. It was one of the first times that the door had ever been locked. Luhan looked into the house through the front door window. It was in the same messy state that he had grown so accustomed to over the summer.

“Lu Han!” The teen’s father had been calling for the boy from across the way.

Luhan, instead, ran from the Victorian porch and toward the chaotic backyard. The old bicycles and trashcans that littered the ground were what he knew by heart. Not the clean and well-kept yard from last night. The blonde ran up the backdoor and tried to open it as well, nothing had budged. The doors were almost always open, why were they closed now? Luhan jumped off the steps and walked around the backyard, calling out the names of the three cats. He went as far as to call them by their respective celestial form name.

“Gond?! To??” He had been making his way round to the front. “Xim?!” He yelled a little louder.

“Hannie!” His father had been waiting in the front yard. “Quiet down! Goodness, people are still trying to sleep this early in the morning. Who are you even calling for?”

“Mr. Park’s cats. They’re always around. They’ll appear out of nowhere when you least expect them too. I bet they’re just hiding—”

“Hannie? What cats? Mr. Park doesn’t have any cats.”

“What? Yes he does. What the hell do you mean he doesn’t have cats?”

Luhan’s father was taken aback by the sudden swear. “…First you’re not in your room, then your hair and now swearing.. Goodness.. What’s next? Are you gonna change all your clothes to black and wear eyeliner?” His father had laughed a little, trying to make light of the situation.

Luhan just furrowed his brows and questioned his father.

“N-Never mind.. Hannie.. Mr. Park doesn’t have any pets, remember? The police came by yesterday when we came home from the hospital. They locked up his house and went to all the surrounding neighbor’s houses to make sure he didn’t have any pets… We all said no, none of use have seen any pets around. Especially cats.”

“But..” Luhan was pale, his heart feeling harsh against his chest and stomach flipping.

“Han.. Are you alright?” His father stepped closer, resting a hand on the boy’s forehead.

“I’m fine dad..” The boy said in a weak voice; none of this was making sense.

But the teen’s father bore an expression of worry, he doted just a bit longer before running his hand through the boy’s blonde locks. “Goodness.. I can’t believe your hair's blonde! When did you even have time to do this?”

The teen placed a hand on the top of his head, forcing his bangs to fall down. They were an odd color of yellow he was not yet accustomed to. “I.. I don’t know..” Luhan spoke aimlessly, his hair had only turned blonde just the night prior. He was just as lost as his father. _So then it wasn’t a dream?_ “Shouldn’t you be at work?” The teen asked to divert the conversation.

“Not.. Not today. I took the day off.”

“Oh.. Why?”

“I uh.. Well, um… L-Let’s just get back to the house alright?”

“Alright..” The teen walked alongside his father, looking back over his shoulder at the green and cranberry colored house. A house that once looked so gross to him was now a great source of his anxiousness.

“I’ve taken the next few days off…” His father said as they walked through the front door.

“Why?” The teen asked as he craned a neck to look for the broken lamp the Prince had caused last night. There had been nothing but a perfectly standing lamp fixture beside the couch.

“…Well, mainly because I’ve been abandoning my duties as a father and want to spend more time with you. I think we need to get used to this country as much as possible and the best way is to do it together… So I’ve stepped my foot down and demanded that I be able to get out of work at my designated time, rather than five hours later just because I’m the foreigner.. You’re going off to school and this house is going to be so lonely without you.. So I want to spend as much time as possible with you.. To make up for all lost time together…”

Luhan had looked up at his father, his face so happy with the news he brought. The teen said not another word and wrapped two tight arms around his father.

“Han..ie?”

“Thank you, dad.” The boy mumbled against the man’s shoulder.

Luhan’s father bore a sad smile and wrapped his arms around his son’s small shoulders. “Of course, my son.” He whispered against the boy’s tousled hair.

The two stayed there for a moment, sending all the ‘I love you’s’ they never got to say in that one moment.

“Hannie… There’s also something else you need to know about.”

✴✧✴

The sun had not yet been shining high in the morning sky but it was enough to illuminate it in a beautiful azure color. Luhan had been seated in the living room window, dress to the nine’s in his suit and tie. He had placed a heavy cheek upon his arm as he lazily played with a stinkbug that had been crawling along the windowsill. But as a passing stranger jogged by with her dog the teen couldn’t help but focus on her. He wondered just where she was going, or why she chose to run with her white little dog every morning. Across the way another man dressed in a plaid robe had been walking his dog on his lawn. It made Luhan wonder why the man never went out for a jog with his Pug. Surely, his dog would love to feel the wind against his face? Ah, but what did the teen know? He did not own a dog nor did he exercise religiously. The teen shrugged and brought his hands away from the windowsill, the bright green stinkbug now crawling its way up the teen’s sleeve.

A rush of feet had descended from the stairs.

“You ready?” Luhan’s father asked as he buttoned up the last few buttons of his blazer.

Luhan turned his head to see his father; he then gently took the bug off his upper arm and patted out the rest of his own blazer.

“…Yeah.”

…

The solemn silence of the funeral was deafening. It made the little amount of people in the room uncomfortable. What hadn’t made it any better was the fact that the black suits they sported had been uncomfortable in the stifling funeral home. Lu hated how some people leered at the casket. But what he hated most of all was the fact that he did not get a chance to say goodbye. Goodbye to a dear friend.

He and his father sat in the cramped funeral chairs as ceremony came to an end. Only a handful of people arrived to pay their respects; most of which who only knew the man for a short period of time. It wasn’t until the very last of people had left that Luhan and his father got to say their goodbye at the casket.

Luhan’s father had licked his hand and wiped a few strands of hair back on Luhan’s head.

“Dad..” Luhan groaned under his breath.

“What?”

Luhan slumped his shoulders and pleaded for his father to behave.

“Fine… I still can’t believe you dyed your hair blonde..” His father shook his head.

Lu’s father knelt down in front of the casket and began to silently give his prayers. Luhan had followed and knelt beside his father. He could not close his eyes and hold his hands to his mouth, no, he could not give his prayers. Instead he kept an eye open and watched as his father mouth silent prayers.

When his father had finished, he stood and nodded his head. Luhan took that as his moment to close his eyes and pretend to keep saying his prayers. Lu’s father stalled for a moment, wanting to ask Luhan to leave with him but he chose to rest a hand on the teen’s shoulder before walking away. He had walked to the other side of the room—thinking it was best he left his son alone.

The room was empty; minus the two workers that kept watch over the casket and flowers.

Luhan had nothing to say, his mind was blank. All he wanted to do was stare at the lifeless face in the casket. It was unsettling at the most but he couldn’t peel his eyes away. He had never seen a dead body before. Sure he had defeated a monster and watched it rain down a thousand little sparkles, but never a dead body.

The more the teen stared the more he could swear that the lips of the man had been slowly turning up in a smile. The idea of the old man playing a sick prank on him rushed through his head and made the teen smile in a breathless chuckle. He caught himself quickly and looked around to make sure no one was watching him.

“…I saw him.” Luhan whispered very quietly to the body. “He was just as amazing as you said. If not, better.” The teen smiled to himself again, he couldn’t hold it back. “Also… I’m sorry for how I behaved… I tried to get him to come to you. So that he could keep his promise to you… But uh… Well it didn’t go quite as planned.” The teen kneeled down next to the casket and rested his head on his arms. “…I know you would make fun of me for crying so I’m not going to cry. Nope.” He lifted his head and rested his chin on his hands. “Because you’re always going to be in my heart. Just like the Prince. I won’t forget you…” Luhan gave his silent thanks to the body and stood up. He lingered just a moment longer before moving on to look at the picture next to the casket.

It was a black and white photo of a young Mr. Park, his named engraved on the frame and accented by a bouquet of white flowers. Luhan’s mouth dropped upon the sight of the black and white photo.

It was the exact face that belonged to the redheaded boy that had Luhan had spent his journey with.

“No…”

The named that engraved the frame read, ‘In Loving Memory Chanyeol (Seth) Park”. Luhan nearly lost all feeling in his legs upon the new information.

“This… This can’t be… How did…” Luhan spun around, looking desperately for his father. At the entrance of the room had been the elder leaning up against the door frame, his arms and legs crossed over the other.

Luhan couldn’t help it; the tears began to form unexpectedly so he let them fall. He ran across the room for his father; the man’s arms had been out stretched for the teen to jump into.

“I don’t understand.” Luhan crashed into his father’s chest, sobbing his words out and sniffling profusely.

“I know baby… I know..” His father had wrapped his arms tightly around the teen, pressing his face against the boy’s crown.

Luhan and his father just stood there, letting the smaller cry his heart out as he swayed the teen gently and rubbed his back. The teen just let himself cry against his father’s chest not caring who was around to see it.

 

 

“You’re wearing your hair up.” The blonde’s father had pointed out.

The boy looked up quizzically, “Am I?”

His father chuckled. “You act like you don’t know these things—”

“Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to begin the reading.” Everyone in the small cramped room had been gathered around a wooden desk. “Now, I must remind you that this had been written in the last moments of Mr. Park’s life and scribbled onto a piece of lined paper. I will read word for word of what the paper says; again these are not my words but the words of the deceased.” The lawyer stated quite professionally.

Luhan and his father were summoned to be present at the hearing, along with the family of Mr. Park. The family had only consisted of a sister and brother; Mr. Park had no one else but those in his immediate family. The odd part to Luhan was that he had never seen the people before, not a single frame had been up in the house that Luhan had spent so much of his summer in.

“I write this to you now,” The lawyer began reciting the letter. “In hopes that my treasures from the last seventy years will find a safe place to rest. I’d first like to say that I leave nothing in my name to my siblings and nothing to their children or children’s children. After abandoning me so quickly in my scandal I shall have you know that you will be punished in this manner. Instead, I hereby decree that my wealth, house and all the items in it belong to the young man who lives beside my house.”

Luhan and his father froze.

“I give him permission to do as he pleases with the land, only that he does not give anything to my sister or brother’s families. The name of this young man goes by Lu Han.” The lawyer paused, waiting to make sure conflict would not break out amongst the people in the room.

The sister and brother had looked to one another then to the only unfamiliar face in the room. The elder woman sneered at Luhan and his father.

The lawyer had then taken the paper and placed it neatly on his desk. He picked up another and opened it.

“Now, I read this only as addressed. He wished that this only be read to the young man named Lu Han.” The two elderly siblings both harrumphed and stood to their feet. “You may wait outside until I finish with him… This includes you as well, sir.” The lawyer directed this to Luhan’s father.

Luhan’s father had looked back at his son and nodded in understanding and left behind the two elderly siblings.

Once the room was empty and the door closed, the lawyer continued. “Lu Han. Thank you. For the most amazing adventure a poor old geezer like me could ever ask for. The mistakes I made when I was younger were honest mistakes, but without you, I would have died a regretful old man. Thank you. For everything.” The lawyer paused to read the line silently to himself before continuing. “Also, the recipe to my cookies are scattered about my house. I left the first clue in the same chest as the clover. I hope you enjoy this last adventure I have for you.”

A few tears had slipped past the teen’s eyes. It was nothing to make him overly upset and sob profusely; but it was enough to be bittersweet. He would miss the old man, his cookies and the eccentric stories he had to tell. But Luhan knew better. The old man would forever be close, he would forever be a part of him.

“Now I remind you, I am still speaking for the deceased as his written words.” The lawyer suddenly broke.

Luhan nodded.

“Tell me, what is your name? And what are the three most important things about you?”

Luhan froze as the lawyer stared at him. The man was waiting for an answer.

It took a moment but he was able to get the words out.

“My name is Lu Han. And I like cookies… Adventures… And a boy with hair made of rainbows.”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n:
> 
> If you don’t understand anything please do not hesitate to ask. I’m not entirely sure I still understand what I wrote. This went a completely different direction than i originally intended
> 
> But you are supposed to be left kind of hanging, was it real? or not? But the ambiguity was supposed to go in a different direction to make it more apparent, haha, many things in this did nOT go as planned. Also, there is a high possibility for a sequel.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


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